7/8^.  2-V 


LIBRARY  OF   THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


DJ'vùioti..^.'^  /6  4-  /6  O 
Section... f.rr^.Ù  I  X' 


THE  IW 


A 


JUL  3^1924 


U 


OF   OUR 


LORD  JE 


kJ 


Jiii 


m 


J-  KJ    J-   I 


BY 


The  Rev.  Charles  C.  Adams,  S.  T.  D., 


RECTOR  OF  ST.   MARY'S  CHURCH,   N.  Y. 


NEW  YORK: 
No.    II    Bible   House. 
CHARLES     F.     ROPER 
1878. 


Copyrighted,  July.  1S73. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER,  PAGF. 

I.  Introduction, 3 

II.  Messianic  Prophecies, 7 

III.  The  Arch-Angel's  Annunciation,        ...  14 

IV.  The  Time  of  Christ's  Coming,        .         .        .  17 
V.  The  Birth  of  Jesus, 24 

VI.  Jesus'   Circumcision   and  Presentation  in  the 

Temple,  .         , 31 

VII.  Visit  of  the  Magi, 38 

VIII.  Jesus'  Boyhood, 45 

IX.  Jesus'  Youth  and  Manhood,  ....  5o 

X.  Jesus  Announced  as  the  Christ,        .        .        •  5S 

XI.  Christ  on  the  Jordan  and  in  Galilee,         .  64 

XII.  Christ's  First  Missionary  Journey,   ...  73 

XIII.  Christ's  Journey  Continued,  .         .         .         .  81 

XIV.  The  First  Passover,    .         .        .        .        .        .86 

XV.  Christ  Returns  to  Judea,      ....  94 

XVI.  Second  Year's  Ministry, 103 

XVII.  The  Second  Passover, m 

XVIII.  The  Twelve  Apostles  Called,    .        .        .        .119 

XIX.  Our  Lord's  Parables, 127 

XX.  The  Twelve  Apostles  Sent,        ....  134 

XXI.  The  Delegation  from  Jerusalem,  .        .         .  146 

XXII.  Christ's  Return  from  Jerusalem,       .        .        .  156 

XXIII.  The  Third  Passover, i6i 


^l 


XXIV.  The  Transfiguration, 
XXV.  After  the  Transfiguration,  . 
XXVI.  The  Church  and  the  Seventy.  . 
XXVII.  Teaching  in  Cities  and  Villages, 
XXVIII.  Return  from  Jerusalem,     . 
XXIX.  Going  up  to  Jerusalem, 
XXX.  The  Feast  of  Dedication,  . 

XXXI.  In  Perea, 

XXXII.  Going  into  Judea,        .... 

XXXIII.  The  Chief  Priests'  Council,  . 

XXXIV.  Christ  s  Entry  to  Jerusalem,    . 
XXXV.  The  Third  Day  of  Christ's  Passion, 

XXXVI.  Christ's  Last  Teaching  in  the  Temple 
XXXVII.  Wednesday  Evening, 
XXXVIII.  The  Last  Passover,     .... 
XXXIX,  Christ's  Discourse  with  the  Eleven, 
XL.  The  Last  Prayer  with  the  Apostles, 
XLI.  Christ's  Arrest  and  Trial,     . 

XLII.  The  Crucifixion, 

XLIII.  Christ  in  Paradise, 
XLIV.  Christ's  Resurrection,         .        .        . 
XLV.  The  Great  Forty  Days,          .        . 
XLVI.  Our  Lord's  Ascension, 
XLVII.  Christ  Glorified,     .... 
XLVIII.  Christ,  the  Judge,       .... 
XLIX.  Conclusion,       .        ,        ,        ,       . 


i68 
176 
1 84 
194 
205 
212 
222 
228 

235 
246 

252 
261 
271 
280 
28S 
295 
305 
3n 
328 

342 
349 
359 
370 
375 
380 
395 


CHAPTER    I. 


INTRODUCTION. 


If  there  be  an  eternal  God,  who  created  the  earth,  and 
made  man  in  His  image  and  likeness,  nothing  is  more  reasonable, 
than  that  He  should  have  revealed  to  man  His  will,  and,  in 
whatever  way  it  might  be,  it  would  be  supernatural.  According- 
ly, Jesus'  conception  was  a  mystery,  His  life  superluiman,  and 
every  attempt  to  write  it  must  outshadow  more  or  less  of  the 
faith,  intellect,  and  knowledge  of  the  writer, — as  is  seen  in  the 
lives  by  Henan  and  Strauss,  by  Liddon,  Fnrrar,  and  Geikie. 

This  life  aims  to  show  from  the  revealed  and  historical 
records,  and  scientific  and  critical  analysis,  that  Christ  was  tlie 
incarnate  Son  of  God,  the  Messiah,  of  prophecy;  be(iause  He 
knew,  revealed,  and  did,  Avhat  only  God  could, — developed  Juda- 
ism into  Christianity,  offered  Himself  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins 
of  man,  and  organized  a  kingdom  to  carry  on  the  work  of 
salvation  He  began,  to  prepare  the  world  for  His  second  coming 
to  judge  it. 

Though  Cln-ist's  knowledge  was  in  advance  of  His  age,  and 
He  revealed  more  of  the  mysteries  of  God  and  nature  than  all 
the  prophets  and  philosophers  who  lived  before  Him,  yet,  the 
Jews  rejected  Him  as  tlieir  Messiali  ;  and  though  He  foretold 
the  future  results  of  His  ndssion,  in  ways  which  have  ever  since 


4  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

been  proving  Hi3  Divine  knowledge,  men  are  yet  divided  in 
their  opinions  of  Him. 

The  title  of  Christ  is  applied  to  Him,  in  His  pre-existent  state 
as  the  Son  of  God;  and  He  is  represented  as  exercising  the 
authority  of  a  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King  in  Heaven  ;  and  these 
otii(;es  lielp  us  to  understand  manj  things  in  His  incarnate  life. 
St.  Paul  calls  Him,  "  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the  first 
horn  of  every  creature,"  says  all  things  were  created  by  Him, 
and  for  Him,  in  heaven  and  earth  ;  and  by  Hitii  all  things  consist. 
And  St.  John  says,  "  TJie  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt 
among  us,  and  we  beheld  His  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only 
begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth." 

And  from  all  this,  Christ's  human  nature  appears  to  be  a 
development  from  the  Godhead,  to  manifest  God's  wisdom, 
power  and  love,  in  the  works  of  C'reation  and  Iledemption  ;  and 
for  the  final  destruction  of  all  evil,  and  to  exalt  man  and  creation 
to  a  higher  state  than  their  original  one. 

As  the  Lord  God,  He  w^rought  with  the  Father  and  the 
Spirit  in  creating  the  worlds,  and  instructed  Adam  concerning 
good  and  evil;  and  instituted  a  way  of  recovery  from  his  fall, 
and  promised  a  Saviour  in  the  seed  of  the  woman  ;  and  provided 
a  Heavenly  Paradise,  where  neither  Satan,  sin,  nor  death  can 
enter,  while  man  prepares  for  Heaven. 

In  Jesus,  God  and  man,  matter  and  spirit  were  forever 
united  ;  and  in  this  mystical  union,  He  fills  the  whole  horizon  of 
the  past  and  future  eternity.  And  it  looks  as  if  there  was  some- 
tliing  (»f  linmanity  in  the  Godhead,  revealed  in  man's  creation, 
which  could  not  be  revealed  without  His  son's  incarnation  in 
man's  nature — Man's  creation  was  the  concurrent  work  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our  own  image,  and  after 
our  likeness;"  the  image  is  man's  three-fold  nature,  body,  soul, 
and  spirit  ;  the  likeness,  man's  original  holiness.  That  revelation 
was  presci'ved  among  all  nations,  as  is  evident  from  the  ancient 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  5 

mythologies,  polytheisms,  and  theologies  ;  and  helped  to  prepare 
them  to  believe  in  the  incarnation,  when  it  should  come. 

Moreover,  the  Son  of  God  often  appeared  on  earth,  nnder 
a  human  or  angelic  form,  to  J!^oah  and  Abraham,  Jacob  and 
JVloses,  directing  the  great  events  that  were  preparing  the  way  for 
His  incarnation.  On  the  Mount  He  instructed  Moses  how  to  pre- 
pare the  Tabernacle,  and  Ritual,  and  Priesthood,  whi(;h  were  to 
develop  into  His  Church,  liturgy  and  ministry.  St.  Paul  says, 
"  The  Israelites  followed  that  Rock,  and  that  Rock  was  Christ." 

The  Psahnist  speaks  of  "The  Man  at  God's  right  hand;" 
Daniel  saw  in  a  vision,  "  One  like  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  Heaven,  and  an  everlasthig  kingdom  and  dominion 
were  given  Him."  And  this  looks  as  if  man  must  be  more  like 
God  tlian  the  angels  ;  and  so  dearer  to  Him,  because  when  the 
angels  fell  there  was  no  redemption  for  them. 

From  all  God  has  revealed  in  creation  and  redemption,  there 
is  a  universal  law  of  evolution  proceeding  from  Him,  and  perfec- 
ted in  Christ,  who  said,  "  I  came  out  from  God  ;  "  as  the  Son  of 
Man,  and  through  Him,  men  have  ever  since  been  changing  into 
His  spiritual  likeness,  and  passing  by  death  to  a  higher  life,  and 
in  Paradise  preparing  for  Heaven,  where  they  will  finally  be 
changed  into  His  likeness  from  glory  to  glory. 

That  seems  to  be  the  higher  law,  similar  to  the  develop- 
ment in  the  physical  world  ;  creation  being  a  development  from 
an  elementary  magma  "  without  form  and  void  ;  "  and  all  animal 
and  vegetable  life  are  so  created  that  they  reproduce  themselves 
by  a  similar  law  ;  and  the  great  works  of  creation  and  redemp- 
tion are  passing  through  changes  to  perfe(jtion. 

"We  discover  these  mysteries  slowly  ;  only  one  century  ago 
oxygen,  the  most  abundant  element  in  creation,  was  discovered  ; 
and  recently  we  have  learned  that  the  gases  can  be  liquified; 
and  the  complex  nature  of  sun  light,  and  its  economy  in  the 
animal  and  vegetable  world  are  modern  discoveries  ;  and  we  do 


C.  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

not  yet  know  the  mystery  of  life,  of  instinct  and  intellect,  or 
how  the  forces  of  nature  are  correlated,  or  cause  the  movements 
of  the  planets. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  ft  took  four  thousand  years  to  prepare 
tlie  world  for  Christ;  or  that  men  were  slow  to  believe  in  Ilim, 
when  we  cannot  now  understand  the  nature  of  the  Trinity  in 
God,  or  ourselves.  But  if  any  will  believe  only  what  they  under- 
stand, they  will  have  a  narrow  creed. 

AVe  grow  wise  by  studying  what  is  revealed  of  these 
mysteries,  and  our  present  happiness  and  eternal  life  are  involved 
in  them.  AVe  see  God's  first  revelation  was  creation,  that  re- 
vealed Ilis  wisdom  and  power  ;  and  the  second  revelation  made 
known  His  justice,  love,  and  mercy  ;  while  the  incarnation, 
resurrection  from  the  dead,  ascension  to  Heaven  of  Christ,  and 
sending  the  Holy  Ghost  to  abide  on  earth,  have  revealed  to  us  a 
knowledge  of  God,  and  of  tlie  glory  that  awaits  the  righteous  in 
a  future  life,  that  we  never  should  have  known  without  them. 

And  we  have  such  reasons  to  believe  in  Christ,  as  the  Son 
of  God,  as  no  generation  before  us  ever  had  ;  because  history, 
science,  and  fultilled  prophecies  of  this  nineteenth  century  have 
shed  such  liglit  on  Him,  as  no  preceding  generation  had.  And 
we  see  in  the  progress  of  man,  and  the  development  of  human 
events,  how  vast  the  life  and  power  of  Christ  on  earth  now  are; 
and  how  certainly  we  may  infer,  that  all  He  has  revealed  con- 
cerning the  destiny  of  mankind  in  time  and  eternity  will  surely 
come  to  pass.  And  then,  tliat  His  vast  works  of  creation  and  re- 
demption, botli  now  progresshig  towards  completion,  will  be  per- 
perfected  when  He  comes  again  in  the  glory  He  had  with  the 
Father  before  creation  bey-an. 


t. 


^fr  •      \—9   ^ 


CHAPTER    II. 


THE  MESSIANIC  PROPHECIES. 


The  first  prophecy  of  a  Saviour,  to  redeem  man  from  the 
power  of  Satan,  sin,  and  death,  was,  that  the  seed  of  the  Avoman 
should  produce  him  ;  no  intimation  was  given  of  the  time,  or 
place  of  His  hirth,  or  of  any  special  glory  to  attend  Him. 

The  first  man  was  created  fi-om  matter,  had  no  mother,  and 
no  father  but  God  ;  the  Messiah  was  to  have  a  mother,  and  no 
intimation  of  a  father  ;  and  His  Divine  nature  was  hidden  for 
centuries,  and  gradually  unfolded  by  prophecies  until  He  came. 

Eve  had  no  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  Messiah,  sacrifice 
was  appointed  for  the  remission  of  sins  until  He  came  ;  and 
when  Cain  was  born,  she  evidently  supposed  lie  was  the  Messiah, 
because  she  said,  "  I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord." 

The  hope  of  such  a  Saviour  is  manifest  in  the  oldest  religions 
and  traditions  of  mankind  ;  and  Pagans  looked  for  a  king  wlio 
would  establish  a  magnificent,  universal,  empire  ;  while  later 
prophecies  foretold  that  He  would  be  a  descendant  of  Abraham, 
a  prophet  like  Moses,  and  in  the  royal  line  of  David,  and  woukl 
elevate  the  race  to  a  higher  spiritual  and  intellectual  state,  and 
enable  them  to  overcome  themselves,  the  world,  and  the  devil. 

Balaam,  a  Gentile  prophet,  said,  "Messiah  W(uild  be  a  king, 
whose  sceptre  would  rise  out  of  Jacob,  and  His  kingdom  be  ever- 


8  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

lasting;"  and  Pagan  priests  preserved  tlie  tradition  by  tlieir  sacri» 
fices,  wliidi  looked  to  Iliiu  us  a  satisfaction  for  sin;  they  confessed 
iliat  this  life  is  a  sad  pilgrimage,  and  they  liad  no  hope  for  its  ills 
until  a  Deliverer  should  come  from  on  higli. 

Tlie  second  person  in  the  Egyptian  thcogony,  held  a  similar 
relation  to  that  of  Christ  in  the  Godliead,  and  the  deity  oftenest 
named  in  the  Hindu  songs  is  Vishnu, — the  second  person  of  the 
Hindu  Triad  ;  and  the  Greeks  and  Romans  also  expected  a  De- 
liverer like  the  other  Pagans. 

The  oldest  Sibylline  Books,  which  certainly  have  some  tradi- 
tions of  revelation  and  true  religion  that  existed  even  before 
Noah,  also  have  the  promise  of  a  great  Deliverer,  called  "  a 
Heaven  sent  king,  the  Mighty  God,"  a  restorer  of  the  kingdom 
of  justice  and  holiness  on  earth  ;  and  again  they  say,  "  God  will 
send  a  king  from  Heaven,  "who  will  judge  men  in  blood  and  a 
flame  of  fire."  And  they  also  predict,  that  man  will  abandon 
false  gods,  and  return  to  the  worship  of  the  only  true  God.  How 
nmch  of  this  last  truth  was  interpolated  in  later  times,  we  do  not 
know  ;  but  certainly  some  of  their  oldest  vaticinations  are  as  old 
as  the  times  of  Moses  and  Homer. 

Revelation  and  tradition  alike  helped  to  preserve  the  hope 
of  the  Messiah;  but  the  Psalmist  foretold  Him  as  the  Lord's 
anointed,  and  describes  the  particulars  of  His  earthly  life,  death, 
resurrection,  and  ascension  to  Heaven,  and  calls  Him  "  God  our 
Saviour  ;  "  but  that  was  only  in  the  popular  sense,  in  which  the 
Jews  often  used  the  word  God,  as  applied  to  an  eminent  person  ; 
and  that  was  commonly  held  by  them,  and  our  Lord's  disciples 
after  He  came. 

Such  was  the  state  of  prophecy  and  the  world  a  thousand 
years  before  Clirist's  birth,  and  at  the  end  of  the  second  stage  of 
its  development.  And  the  prophets  after  David  and  Solomon 
began  a  new  era  of  revelation,  fortelling  Christ's  advent  with 
more  detail;  they  said  He  would  be  born  of  a  vii'gin,  and  His 


1  LIFE    VF    CHRIST.  9 

name  be  Immanueî,  "  God  with  us  ;  "  and,  as  tlie  Redeemer,  He 
would  come  to  Zion,  a  liglit  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  tlic  glory 
of  Israel;  and  while  He  would  heal  tlie  sick,  comfort  the 
troubled,  bind  up  the  broken  hearted,  deliver  captives,  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  poor,  and  forgive  sins,  He  would  be  Himself  the 
arciietype  of  all  human  suffering  and  sorrow — despised  and  rejec- 
ted by  men,  cut  oif  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  die  witli  malefac- 
tors, liave  His  burial  with  the  ricli,  rise  from  the  dead,  ascend  to 
heaven,  be  glorified  in  the  Godhead,  and  draw  all  men  unto  Him. 
Daniel  foretells  the  exact  time  of  Christ's  birth  ;  Micah  names 
Bethlehem  as  the  place  ;  Haggai  said  :  "  Pie  is  the  desire  of  all 
nations  ;  "  and  Malachi,  the  last  of  the  minor  prophets,  said  He 
would  rise  on  the  world  as  the  Snn  of  Righteousness;  Zacharias, 
tlie  connecting  link  between  the  prophecies  of  the  Law  and  the 
Gospel,  said,  taking  the  infant  Jesus  in  his  arms  :  "  God  hath 
raised  up  a  horn  of  Salvation  for  us,  in  tlie  house  of  His  servant 
David  ;  "  and  Caiaphas,  the  last  legal  high  priest  and  prophet  of 
Judaism,  closed  the  Canon  of  Messianic  prophecy,  saying  to  the 
rulers  of  the  Jews,  "  Ye  know  nothing  at  all,  nor  consider  that  it 
is  expedient  for  us,  that  one  man  should  die  for  the  people,  and 
that  the  whole  nation  perish  not.  And  this  He  spake  not  for 
Himself  ;  but  l)eing  high-priest  that  year,  he  prophecied  that 
Jesus  should  die  for  that  nation." 

From  these  paradoxical  prophecies,  the  Jews  did  not  know 
what  kind  of  a  person  Christ  would  be  ;  tlie  titles  "  God  with 
us,"  and  the  "  Lord  our  Righteousness,"  implied  to  them  only 
that  He  would  be  a  man  highly  endowed  by  God,  would  work 
mighty  miracles,  and  establish  an  universal  temporal  kingdom. 
The  Hebrews  often  used  the  term  God  in  that  sense  ;  Moses  was 
called  by  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Pharaoh  ;  the  Judges  were  called 
Gods,  because  they  judged  by  God's  authority  ;  and  Christ  said 
to  the  Jews,  "  Is  it  not  written  in  your  law,  I  said  ye  are  Gods  ? 
If  He  called  them  Gods  to  whom  the  word  of  God  came,  and  the 


10  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Scripture  onnnot  be  broken  ;  say  ye  of  Him,  whom  the  Father 
hntli  saiu'titied  and  sent  into  tlio  world,  thon  Idaspliemest,  1x3- 
cansc  I  said  I  am  the  Son  God  ?  *'  But  that  lie  was  s»>,  as  the 
second  person  i>f  the  Trinity,  was  one  of  tlie  secrets  they  were 
not  to  know  nntil  His  resurrection. 

Tlie  nnchanL(able  faitli  of  tlie  Jews,  that  the  Loi-d  our  God, 
is  ONE  God,  and  hut  one  Person  in  tlie  Godhead;  yet,  m.'iin- 
tained  1)y  tlieni,  sliows  how  impossible  it  was  for  them  to  believe 
in  Christ,  as  He  is  revealed  in  the  Gospel.  Though  the  learned 
Jews  had  learned  from  the  Egyptians  something  of  the  Logos, 
as  tlie  word  is  used  in  the  Gospel,  but  they  referred  it  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  Messiah. 

History  and  existing  monuments  prove,  that  the  prophecies 
were  written  centuries  before  Christ  ;  and  the  evidence  is  greater 
that  they  were  fnliilled  in  Christ,  who  was  born  in  the  reign  of 
Cresar  Augustus,  as  they  are  recorded  in  the  New  Testament. 
And  they  have  internal  and  external  evidence  of  a  Divine  origin, 
because  the}'  f orteil  events  none  but  God  could  know,  and  are 
woven  into  the  history,  traditions,  and  religions  of  mankind. 
For  all  the  types,  sacrilices,  and  ceremonial  of  Jmlaism  ;  and  all 
the  religious  rites  of  Paganism,  and  the  rise  and  fall  of  nations, 
helped  to  prepare  for  the  Messiah,  exactly  as  prophecy  foretold 
He  would  come. 

Witliout  the  prophecies,  no  such  Christ  could  have  been 
imagined,  and  when  He  came  the  Jews  Avho  preserved  them 
.rejected  Him  as  their  Messiah;  and  unless  Cln-ist  had  fnliilled 
ithe  prophecies,  the  world  would  never  have  believed  Him  to  be 
iGod's  incarnate  Son  ;  but  we  believe  in  Him,  because  no  such 
man  had  appeared  before  Him,  as  none  such  has  since. 

And  these  prophecies  fulfilled  before  and  since  Christ,  are 
more  conclusive  proofs  of  His  divinity,  than  His  doctrines, 
miracles  and  holy  life,  because  imposture  is  impossible;  we  see 
how -they  wore,  and  are  fulfilled,  and  now  fulfilling. 


CHAPTER    III. 


THE  ARCH-ANGEL'S  ANNUNCIATION. 


The  Bible  represents  the  angels  as  ministering  between  God 
and  men,  in  all  the  extraordinary  events,  that  prepared  the  way 
for  the  incarnation  of  the  Son;  annonneing  His  conception, 
attending  His  birth  and  wliole  earthly  life,  and  witnessing  His 
resurrection  and  ascension  to  heaven  ;  and  Christ  foretold,  that 
they  will  come  with  Him  at  His  second  advent,  and  an  arch- 
angle's  trump  will  sound  the  knell  of  time,  and  summons  the 
dead  to  the  judgment. 

B.  C.  534,  the  arch-angel  Gabriel,  whose  place  is  before 
God's  throne,  was  sent  to  reveal  to  Daniel  the  exact  time  m- hen 
"  the  Messiah,  the  Prince,  should  be  born  ;  and  he  then  disap- 
peared, and  nothing  was  heard  of  him  in  this  world  for  five 
centuries,  when  he  appeared  to  Zacharias,  while  he  was  ofhciating 
in  the  Temple,  and  announced  that  his  wife  Elisabeth  would  I)e 
the  mother  of  a  miraculous  child,  the  Forerunner  of  tlic  Messiah. 
Six  montlis  later,  Gabriel  returned  to  Nazareth,  with  this 
annunciation  to  the  A^irgin  Mary,  "  Hail  tliou  who  art  highly 
favored,  the  Lord  is  with  thee,  blessed  art  thou  among  women  ; 
'  Fear  not,  Mary,  for  thou  hast  found  favor  with  God,  and  be- 
hold, thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb,  and  sliall  bring  forth 
a  Son,  and  shall  call  His  name  Jesus.     He  shall  be  great,  and 


12  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

bUmII  be  called  the  Son  of  tlio  Highest,  and  the  Lord  God  shall 
give  lliiii  the  throne  of  llis  father  David;  and  He  sliall  reign 
over  the  House  of  Jacob  forever.'  " 

Mary,  at  first  terrified,  then  said  to  the  angel,  "  How  shall 
tliis  1)0,  seeing  I  know  not  a  man  ?  "  And  Gabriel  ant^wered, 
"'  The  Holy  Ghost  sliall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  tlie 
llii^diest  shall  overshadow  thee  ;  tlierefore,  also  that  Holy  Being, 
who  shall  be  born  of  thee,  shall  be  called  the  Sen  of  God." 
Thus  he  explained  the  first  great  Messianic  prophecy. 

God  gave  the  name  Jesus,  by  the  angel,  to  the  child  before 
He  was  conceived,  and  thus  designated  His  office  of  Saviour; 
and  Mary's  confession  to  her  Virginity  shows,  that  she  expected 
her  child  would  be  only  a  miraculous  conception  like  her  great 
ancestor's  child  Isaac,  or  her  cousin  Elisabeth's;  calling  Him 
the  Son  of  the  Highest,  would  be  understood  by  her  according 
to  the  Jewish  expectation  of  the  Messiah;  and  she  never  knew, 
until  her  child  was  glorified  in  heaven,  that  He  was  the  second 
person  of  the  most  Holy  Trinity. 

Tlie  l^lessing  then  pronounced  on  Mary,  revoked  for  her 
the  curse  on  her  mother  Eve,  from  wliom  she  inherited  the  seed 
irom  whicli  the  Saviour  sprang  ;  and  she  M'as  favored  by  God, 
to  be  the  earthly  mother  of  the  human  nature  of  Christ;  she 
was  blessed  in  her  maternal  love,  in  training  His  unfolding 
mind,  in  the  joy  she  felt  in  His  holy  manliood,  in  His  teucljing 
and  miracles.  His  triumph  over  death,  in  His  ascension  to  heaven, 
and  the  assurance  tliat  He  was  glorified  in  the  Godhead,  and 
worsl lipped  by  the  angels. 

Slie  was  blessed  also  in  seeing  in  her  Son,  what  was  fore- 
shadowed in  the  prophecy,  that  He  would  be  of  tlie  seed  of  the 
woman,  that  He  had  a  feminine  delicacy  and  tenderness,  with 
the  strength  of  a  perfect  manhood,  and  the  holiness  of  God. 

Besides  all  that,  she  is  blessed  now,  as  no  other  wonum  ever 
was,  in  occupying  a  place  in  Cln-ist's  Church  ;  two  yearly  festi- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  13 

vais  in  her  honor,  and  in  the  religious  thought  of  the  world  ;  the 
angelic  "Hail  Mary"  has  been  a  continual  salutation  to  our  day. 
But,  above  all,  she  is  blessed  in  the  rank  and  glory  she  has 
enjoyed  timong  tlie  saints  in  Paradise,  where  slio  is  waiting,  in 
expectation  of  the  eternal  glory  she  will  enjoy  with  Cln-ist,  after 
her  resurrection,  in  heaven.  Surely  the  promise  has  been,  and 
ever  will  be,  fulfilled, — that  God  has  blessed  lier  among  women. 

Mary  was  told  by  Gabriel,  that  her  Cousin  Elisal)eth  also 
had  conceived  a  miraculous  child  ;  and  she  went  with  haste  to 
visit  he]-,  and  when  she  saluted  Elisabeth,  the  babe  leaped  in 
her  womb  for  joy,  and  she  said  with  a  loud  voice:  "Blessed  art 
thou  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the  fruit  of  thj-  womb  ;  and 
whence  is  this  to  me,  that  the  mother  of  my  Lord  should  come 
to  me  ;  for  lo  !  as  soon  as  the  voice  of  thy  salutation  sounded  in 
mine  ears,  the  babe  leaped  in  my  womb  for  joy  ;  and  blessed 
is  she  who  believed,  for  tliere  shall  be  a  performance  of  those 
things  that  were  told  her  from  the  Lord." 

Though  these  words  were  a  benediction,  they  were  also 
prophetical  ;  and  doubtless  Elisabeth  knew  no  more  of  their  full 
import,  than  the  prophets  did  of  their  prophecies  ;  and  she 
called  Mary  blessed,  as  the  mother  of  her  Lord,  only  in  the 
sense  of  her  Jewish  expectation,  that  her  child  would  be  tlie 
Messiah.  And  thus  it  was,  a  woman  who  lost  men  their  inno- 
cence and  salvation,  was  chosen  by  God  to  give  the  race  a 
Saviour  ;  and  show  His  power  over  Satan,  by  making  her  seed 
destroy  Satan's  power,  and  consign  him  to  eternal  punishment 
in  hell  ;  one  woman  brought  sin  and  death  into  the  world,  and 
God  made  another  woman  to  bring  in  righteousness  and  eternal 
life. 

Mary's  anthem  of  thanksgiving. 

And  Mary  said:  "My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and 
my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour;  for  He  liath  re- 
garded tlie  low  estate   of  His  handmaideti;  for  behold,  from 


14  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

henceforth  all  generations  shall  cmU  me  blessed  ;  for  lie  who 
is  niii;hty  hath  done  great  things  to  me  ;  and  holy  is  Ilis  name  ; 
He  hath  scattered  the  proud  in  the  imagination  of  their  hearts  ; 
He  hath  put  do\vn  the  mighty  from  their  seats,  and  exalted 
them  of  low  degree  ;  He  hatli  tilled  the  Innigiy  with  good  things, 
and  the  rich  Ke  hath  sent  empty  away  ;  He  liath  hol]>en  His 
servant  Israel,  in  remembrance  of  Ilis  nieiH-y  ;  as  He  spake  to 
our  fatîiers,  to  Ahraliam,  and  to  his  seed  forever.  And  Mary 
abode  with  her  about  three  months  Cwhirli  was  until  John  the 
Forerunner  of  her  Son  was  born.)  and  rctui-ned  to  her  own  liome. 

All  this  was  evidently  said  by  Divine  inspiration,  being 
partly  historical,  and  partly  [)rophetical  ;  she  did  not  understand 
the  hidden  meaning,  when  slie  said  slie  njoii-cd  "•  in  Go<l  my 
Saviour;"  only  professed  her  faith  th;it  lier  cliiUi  would  be  the 
Messiah,  and  the  temporal  Restorer  or  Savioui-  of  herself  and  all 
Gci's  people.  Elisabeth's  son  was  to  be  i-alk-d  "  the  l*rophct  of 
the  Highest,  for  thou  shalt  go  before  the  fate  of  the  Lord  to 
prepare  His  ways." 

And  Mary  and  Elisabeth  were  the  tirst  of  the  nation,  who 
believed  that  the  fullness  of  time  for  Messiah's  condng  was  ful- 
tilled,  and  that  their  sons  were  miraculously  sent  l^y  God,  in 
fulfillment  of  the  prophecies  respecting  Christ  and  His  messen- 
ger. Both  of  these  women  were  desc-endants  of  Ahraham,  the 
friend  of  God,  and  both  were  in  the  royal  line  of  David  and 
S<->lomon  ;  and  so  Mary  confesssed  that  God  in  blessing  her  had 
remembered  His  promise  and  mere}',  and  truth  to  the  House  of 
Israel.  But  neither  of  them  were  thus  honored  of  God,  bec-ause 
of  their  pedigree  or  rank, — for  the  House  of  David  was  almost 
forgotten  by  num.  Mary's  fandly  was  poor,  and  she  was  betrothed 
to  a  poor  num  ;  but  both  of  them  were  righteous  before  God, 
and  so  were  chosen  by  Him,  to  fulfill  His  purposes,  instead  of 
any  other  of  David's  descendants.  Mary  had  grown  to  woman- 
hood in  a  quiet  village,  modest,  devout,  and  her  piet}-  probably 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  15 

unnhserved  but  by  the  all- seeing  Heavenly  Father,  who  chose 
her  to  be  tlie  Motlier  of  His  incarnate  Son. 

For  four  thousand  years  this  child  had  been  tlie  Desire  of 
all  nations,  and  for  eii^ht  centuries  He  had  been  expected  as  the 
offsprinii-  of  a  viri^in  mother  ;  and  ever  since  His  birth,  the  faith 
and  purity  and  sorrows  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  have  helped  to 
cimlirui  man's  oclief  in  Christ,  and  to  spread  His  religion.  And 
lier  name  is  embodied  in  the  creed  of  His  Cluirch,  as  Avell  as  the 
Grospel  ;  and  from  her  day,  women  have  been  co-laborers  in  all 
good  works  for  the  extension  of  His  Kingdom. 

The  New  Testament  furnishes  names  of  Deaconesses,  who 
liclpcd  the  Apostles,  and  the  roll  of  Martyrs  has  the  names  of 
illustrious  women  who  suffered  for  Clu-ist  ;  and  history  tells  of 
many  who  iiave  aided  in  spreading  nnssions  iu  tlie  world.  Tlie 
Empress  Helena  was  conspicuous  in  extending  Christianity  in  the 
Roman  Empire,  and  missions  in  Germany,  Gaul,  and  Britain  and 
Russia  were  assisted  by  women  ;  and  tJie  names  of  Clotilda, 
Bertha,  Giselle,  Queen  Ann,  and  a  liost  of  others  are  among  tlie 
names  of  the  inmiortals  in  history. 

And  we  learn  from  the  Blessed  Virgin,  that  neither  rank, 
nor  riches,  is  essential  to  l.n'ing  us  into  favor  with  God  and 
honor  among  men  ;  and  that  we  need  not  travel  or  suffer  martyr- 
dom, as  the  A})Ostles  did,  to  Avin  e\'ei'la3ting  renown  ;  because 
tile  Blessed  Virgin  attained  her  glory  l:>y  doing  her  duty  in  an 
humble  station,  though  she  w:is  of  a  royal  line.  And  so  may  all 
ol>tain  the  honor  and  glory  God  alone  can  give,  by  doin»'-  their 
duties  patiently  in   that  state   of  life  where  He  has  placed  them. 

It  is  not  what  the  world  thinks  of  us,  Ijut  the  way  we  make 
our  character  like  Christ's,  that  determines  God's  estimate  of  us; 
and  what  v»-ill  be  our  condition  in  Paradise,  and  our  gloiy  or 
shame,  when  we  meet  Him  at  the  judgment. 

No  one  knows  what  part  God  designs  him  to  play  in  the 
role  of  time,  nor  what  will  be  the  result  of  his  life  work  ;   but 


16  ^  LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  \ 

we  do  know,  if  we  do  our  best  to  God  and  man,  where  our  lot  is 
cast,  our  labor  will  not  be  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

And  Oh  !  what  a  blessed  lesson  the  lowly  Virgin's  example 
is,  for  the  great  masses  of  our  race, — the  poor  and  disappointed, 
who  are  troubled  because  they  see  no  way  for  them  to  do  good 
and  help  the  world's  salvation  :  because  she  is  so  honored  by 
God  for  humility,  and  righteousness,  and  submission  to  God's 
will.  And  if  we  stiive  for  these  graces,  in  the  reach  of  all,  He 
will  make  all  things  to  M'ork  for  our  good  as  He  did  for  hers  ; 
for  He  lays  no  cross  on  any  without  giving  them  grace  to  bear 
it,  if  they  will  only  ask  it.  He  tries  our  faith  and  love  and 
obedience  here,  to  see  how  much  love  and  glory  we  sliall  be 
worthy  to  rcH-eive  in  the  life  everlasting. 

There  is  the  Inirden  of  some  cross  in  the  lot  of  every 
mortal  laid  on  him  by  God,  as  the  blessed  Virgin's  was  on  lier; 
and  when  the  Angel  told  her  what  was  to  happen  to  her,  which, 
under  other  circumstances  would  have  filled  her  with  shame  and 
sorrow,  she  meekly  said,  "Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord;  be 
it  unto  me  according  to  Thy  word  ;  "  so  each  one's  cross  may  be 
designed  by  God,  to  be  the  training  needed  to  discipline  him  into 
the  Clirist-like  temper  and  disposition  essential  to  his  salvation. 

As  we  look  back  over  our  past  lives,  we  often  see  how  much 
better  God's  ways  were  for  us,  than  what  we  proposed  or  desired 
ourselves;  and  in  our  future  lives  we  shall  doubtless  praise  and 
adore  Him  for  things  we  mourned  over  here.  The  Angel 
l)r<»uglit  from  God  the  name  Jesus,  for  Mary's  child  ;  it  was  a 
common  Hel)rew  name,  but  fully  designated  the  otK(;e  He  was  to 
fulfill;  and  this  familiar  name  was  in  perfect  keeping  with  the 
Divine  humility  which  (-haracterized  His  whole  earthly  life. 
After  this  annunciation,  Mary  is  hardly  mentioned  in  the  Gospel  ; 
but  while  she  was  hidden  from  tlie  world,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  wns  secretly  and  silently  forming  in  her,  until  the  night 
when  the  auirels  announced  His  birth  at  Bethlehem. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  TIME  OF  CHRIST'S  COMING. 

Creation  and  time  liad  a  mystical  relation  to  the  incarnation 
of  the  Son  of  God.  His  human  nature  came  out  of  the  elements 
of  matter,  and  in  the  course  of  time  ;  and  from  Creation,  Revela- 
tion and  the  Incarnation,  have  come  all  we  know  of  God,  and 
our  own  origin  and  future  eternal  life. 

A  tliousand  years  in  God's  sight  are  as  one  day,  and  one 
day  as  a  thousand  years.  Time  is  a  sequence  of  creation, — days, 
weeks,  months  and  years  represent  only  motion  or  procession  of 
thought,  and  come  from  the  motion  of  the  planets;  without  that 
there  would  be  no  time,  but  one  everlasting  now.  The  Son  of 
God  was  incarnate,  to  perfect  creation  by  its  redemption  ;  when 
that  is  finished  time  will  be  no  more,  and  its  whole  course  will 
be  an  epoch  of  eternity. 

St,  Paul  said,  "When  the- fullness  of  time  was  come,  God 
sent  forth  His  Son,  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  tlie  Law;" 
and  our  world's  history  shows  that  from  creation  all  the  great 
events  in  the  development  of  man  and  nations,  were  a  series  of  pre- 
parations for  the  incarnation  ;  and  when  God's  plans  and  purposes 
were  accomplished,  the  angels  announced  Jesus'  birth. 

The  time  and  manner  of  Christ's  coming  was  so  paradcx- 
•cally  revealed,  and  the  nature  and  design  of  His  mission,  that 


18  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

He  niii^lit  be  received  by  faitli,  aiid  that  wlien  the  prophecies 
were  fiiltilk'd  tliere  wouhl  1)0  no  douljt  of  His  person;  like  many 
divery;ent  rays  of  truth  they  guncentratcd  to  fiillilhnent  in  Him. 
And  now  we  see  tliat  God's  mysterious  way  was  best  to  furnish 
to  all  future  generations,  such  evidence  of  Ilis  Messiahship  as 
no  reasonable  mind  could  doubt,  and  no  ingumiity  of  man 
controvert. 

Looking  back  to  the  history  of  mankind  before  Cln-ist,  we 
see  that  God  first  tried  them  witliout  a  written  law,  by  oral 
commands  and  a  long  life,  so  that  they  might  be  easily  trans- 
mitted by  tradition  ;  Ijut  this  failed  to  restrain  them  from  sin 
and  temporal  ruin  ;  then  the  experiment  was  made  on  one 
nation,  with  a  written  law  and  ritual  of  worship,  which  made  the 
people  superior  to  other  nations  ;  but  it  did  not  save  them  from 
idolatry  and  rebellion  against  God,  until  they  were  so  judi(dally 
blind,  respecting  the  prophecies  they  preserved  of  the  Messiali, 
that  they  rejected  Him  and  caused  His  crucifixion. 

Jesus  came  to  die  for  the  sins  of  the  world  ;  and  the  Jews 
prepared  themselves,  in  spite  of  God's  mercies  to  their  fore- 
fathers, and  of  Christ's  testimony  to  them  by  His  words  and 
works,  to  crucify  Him.  But  all  those  preparations  were 
.essential  for  the  development  of  the  new  era,  and  new  covenant 
in  Clu'ist's  blood,  which  were  to  revolutionize  the  world  ;  to 
introduce  a  reign  of  God  on  eartli,  through  the  Holy  Ghost, 
raise  mankind  to  a  higlier  moral  and  spiritual  condition,  and 
a  new  civilization,  science,  and  freedom,  such  as  had  never  before 
existed.  And  there  was  no  time  from  Adam  to  Christ,  so 
appropriate  to  acx'omplish  God's  purposes  of  love  and  mercy 
for  us  men  in  Jesus'  birth,  as  the  beginning  of  the  era  which 
bears  His  name  ;  because  His  birth  is  rooted  into  time,  and 
that  has  helped  to  transmit,  through  all  the  Christian  centuries, 
the  truth  that  the  long  expected  Messiah  did  then  come. 

That  fullness  of  time  had  proved  that,  with  all  that  God 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  .  19 

liad  done  to  teach  and  lielp  mankind,  tliey  were  yet  in  a  dc- 
ploralile  condition,  and  needed  some  furtlier  help  from  Ilim  ; 
all  hnman  tçovernments  were  despotisms,  and  the  people  were 
groaning  for  deliverance  from  bondage  to  their  sins  and  oppres- 
sors. Hardly  greater  wretchedness  can  be  imagined  than  was 
universal  when  Jesus  was  born. 

The  masses  of  the  people  were  serfs  and  slaves,  and  had 
no  rights  their  rulers  respected — notwithstanding  the  theory  of 
Roman  Law,  which  guaranteed  justice  to  its  humblest  citizens; 
might  and  money  made  the  poor  powerless  to  get  redress. 
The  Government  of  Rome  was  unstable  ;  one  military  despot 
after  another  was  assassinated  to  give  place  to  the  next  ambi- 
tious usurper  ;  the  rich  were  murdered  for  their  money  ;  Nero 
murdered  his  own  mother  long  after  Christ's  birth  ;  women 
were  degraded  and  shameless,  and  ladies  of  the  highest  rank 
exposed  their  persons  to  please  Nero  ;  human  passions  were 
unrestrained  among  all  classes,  and  public  and  private  dishonesty 
was  almost  universal;  and  so  dismal  was  the  state  of  society, 
that  some  good  men  committed  suicide  to  escape  its  horrors. 

All  the  foundations  of  social,  domestic,  and  civil  order, 
swayed  under  the  convulsions  of  a  corrupted  and  perishing 
world.  The  sense  of  insecurity  and  peril  was  universal,  and 
the  moral  darkness  which  covered  the  people  made  them  groan 
for  deliverance  from  its  worn  out  Paganisjn  and  dissoluteness, 
and  proved  how  deeply  a  Saviour  was  needed.  Nevertheless, 
the  way  had  been  preparing  for  centuries  along  with  the  grow- 
ing corruptions,  which  made  the  people  feel  the  need  of  a 
Deliverer  and  for  His  coming  ;-by  the  cultivation  of  letters,  l)y  the 
apotheosis  of  their  great  men  by  several  nations,  by  the  begin- 
ning of  a  reliable  historical  epoch,  by  the  conquest  of  Palestine 
by  the  Romans,  by  the  universal  spread  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  Greek  language  ;  and  the  very  men  like  Herod,  and  Pilate, 
Caiaphas  and  Judas,  as  well  as  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  Zacharias, 


20  LIFE    OF    CHllIST. 

and  tlie  Apostles  and  Evangelists,  v:evc  preparations  for  the 
Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  without  these  good  and 
bad  men  of  that  generation,  llis  mission  could  not  have  been 
accom])lished  as  it  was. 

Tlic  little  country  of  Palestine,  and  tlie  subjected  nation 
of  the  Jews,  were  tlie  only  place  and  people  wliere  the  true 
God  was  known  and  worshipped;  and  the  rulers  then  liad  so 
perverted  His  revelation,  that  Clu-ist  denounced  them  as  hypo- 
crites and  whited  sepulcln-es;  and  they  rejected  and  crucitied 
Him.  All  the  rest  of  the  world  was  in  Pagan  darkness,  with 
its  Buddhism,  Brahminism,  Pantheism,  the  Precepts  of  Confu- 
cius, and  Zoroaster,  and  Fetichism;  and  there  were  five  hundred 
false  gods  worshipped  in  Rome,  and  described  wdth  vices  which 
degrade  and  disgrace  men. 

The  grand  civilization  of  Assyria,  Egypt,  and  the  East,  and 
the  classic  culture  of  Greece  and  Rome,  had  done  but  little  to 
elevate  men  morally  or  socially;  and  Christianity  came  as  a 
healer  of  all  the  evils  under  which  men  groaned,  and  to  lift  them 
to  a  Idgher  civilization  as  well  as  religious  state.  Tlie  natural 
compassion  of  a  common  humanity,  that  moves  to  pity  and  re- 
lieve the  suffering  and  diseased,  had  caused  rulers  in  Egypt,  India 
and  Greece,  centuries  before  Christ,  to  provide  means  to  alleviate 
such  cases  ;  something  like  the  attendance  of  physicians  at  mod- 
ern dispensaries,  and  places  of  resort  for  lepers  ;  but  there  were 
no  hospitals  with  medical  skill,  tender  nursing,  and  means  to 
ease  suffering  such  as  came  with  Christianity.  And,  it  is  said, 
that  the  first  hospital  ever  built  with  these  ends  in  view,  was 
at  Bethlehem  where  Jesus  was  born.  Before  Christ,  peniten- 
tiaries were  used  not  to  reform,  but  punish  and  harden  criminals; 
and  instead  of  restoring  them  to  society  and  a  better  life,  they 
were  turned  out  to  prey  with  greater  hatred  on  the  world;  and 
the  dangerous  classes  were  held  in  check  by  punishments  that 
were  cruel  and  inadequate.     In  St.  Paul's  day,  because  a  slave 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  21 

murdered  his  master,  a  whole  plantation  of  men,  women  and 
children  were  put  to  deatli  ;  and  one  emperor  fed  his  lish  with 
the  flesh  of  a  slave. 

Thus,  it  was,  after  God  had  tried  mankind  for  four  thou- 
sand years,  and  showed  then*  incapacùty  for  self-government, 
and  that  even  witli  a  written  revelation,  and  priesthood,  and 
Church,  they  could  not  save  themselves  from  moral  and  tem- 
poi'al  ruin,  without  some  further  help  from  Him  ;  that  was 
the  fullness  of  time,  wlien  He  chose  to  send  His  Son  in  a  human 
nature,  to  show  men  how  to  live  a  true  manhood,  and  to  furnish 
the  means  to  help  others  to  live  like  Him,  to  restore  tliem  from 
death,  and  exalt  them  to  an  eternal  life  with  Him  in  heaven. 

Men  saw  the  need  of  such  a  Saviour,  felt  that  none  but 
God  could  deliver  the  world  from  its  crushing  evils  ;  and  then 
Jesus  came  as  the  second  Adam,  to  show  how  grand  and  perfect 
the  first  Adam  originally  was  ;  how  men,  by  following  His  ex- 
ample, could  become  like  Him;  and  established  His  Church, 
and  sent  the  Holy  Spirit  to  help  them  ;  and  finally,  to  gradually 
dispell  the  moral  darkness  of  the  world,  and  the  evils  of  society, 
exalt  men  to  a  higher  civilization  here,  and  fit  them  for  His 
kingdom  in  heaven  hereafter;  and  last,  not  least,  destroy  Satan's 
power  throughout  the  universe,  every  where  but  in  the  one 
little  prison  of  Hell. 

Civil  and  sacred  history,  and  Gentile  traditions,  as  well 
as  the  Gospel  and  classical  writers,  testify  to  a  general  ex- 
pectation of  the  appearance  of  an  extraoi-dinary  person  [as 
about  to  appear]  in  the  reign  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Cseser 
Augustus, — which  began  B.  C  30,  and  ended  A.  D.  14.  The 
expectation  existed,  tlierefore,  not  only  in  Palestine  and  the 
Roman  Empire,  but  also  among  the  eastern  nations;  Tacitus,^^ 
Siietoneus,  and  Virgil  testify  to  tlie  expectation  in  the  We^; 
and  the  coming  of  the  Magi  to  inquire,  "where  is  He  born 
who  is  king  of  the  Jews,"  testify  to  its  existence  in  the  East. 


22  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

And  now,  on  this  fact,  tluit  tlie  Son  of  God  was  incar- 
nate in  onr  nature,  "made  man,'-  lived  and  died  on  earth,  rose 
fi'oni  the  dead,  ascended  to  Heaven,  and  is  iiçloritied  in  tlie 
God-head,  depends  all  revealed  religion  ;  l)eitan6e,  as  St.  l*:inl 
says, — if  Christ  be  not  risen.  Christian  hope  is  a  delusion,  and 
tliere  is  no  ground  to  liope  for  a  resun-eetion  from  the  dead,  nur 
of  any  future  life,  or  gh.iry  in  Heaven. 

We  see,  also,  how  a  good  preparation  liad  been  made  at 
the  time  when  Christ  came.  If  He  had  come  in  any  century 
Avhen  Assyria,  and  Ba])ylon  or  Egypt  were  in  their  glory, 
they  would  have  transmitted  no  historical  records  of  any  great 
value,  and  but  fragments  of  wiitten  history  ;  and  had  Christ 
come  in  a  barbarous  age  or  country,  where  there  were  no 
men  of  learning,  and  nothing  but  a  barl)arous  dialect,  to  trans- 
mit by  tradition  tlie  records  of  His  life  and  mission,  the 
evidence  would  have  been  hardly  convincing  to  the  next  gene- 
ration. 

But,  when  Christ  came,  all  the  ancient  civilizations  and 
literature  had  been  poured  into  the  laps  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
and  raised  to  a  liigher  stage  ;  and  one  more  capable  of  trans- 
mission, nncorrupted  than  had  ever  before  existed.  The 
(irreek  and  Latin  languages  had  reached  their  highest  perfec- 
Vlvu,  and  were  better  adapted  than  any  preceding  tongues  to  ex- 
press the  spiritual  doctrines,  revealed  by  Christ;  and  were  essen- 
tial to  the  new  era  of  enlightenment,  which  was  to  begin  in 
and  with  Christ,  and  were  vehicles  best  suited  to  preserve  and 
transmit  the  truths  of  Christianity. 

Though  the  Aramean,  a  dialect  of  the  Syriac,  was  the 
vernacular  uf  the  pef)]de  of  Palestine  when  Christ  came,  yet 
the  Hellenistic  was  connnon  in  almost  the  whole  Western 
wurkl,  and  was  spoken  ]»y  Christ;  and  the  Gospels,  excepting 
St.  Matthew's,  were  ])robMbly  written  in  that  Greek,  and  ex- 
actly as  we  now  have  them.     And  it  was  better  adapted  thar. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  23 

any  existing  Inngnago,  to  express  tlie  liiglier  thonglits,  emotions, 
Hiid  e;[)iritnal  trutlis  Clnùst  came  to  reveal. 

And  tlie  liand  of  God  is  plainly  seen  in  all,  tliat  in  the 
preparations  as  well  as  the  prophecies,  and  the  time  wlien,  and 
the  jilace  wliere,  Jesns  was  bom.  His  coming  was  delayed, 
until  tlie  veiy  men  were  born,  wlio  had  folt  the  power  of  that 
civilization,  and  could  ex]>rcss  themselves  in  the  dialect  of  Alex- 
andria; and  in  words  and  thoughts  not  only  understood  by  the 
most  cultivated  people  on  earth,  but,  which  was  destined  also 
to  be  forever  the  study  and  delight  of  scholars,  and  in  which 
Christ's  words  were  to  be  stereotyped,  and  last  until  His 
second  coming. 

A]id  again  the  hand  of  God  is  more  plainly  seen  by  us 
who  look  back  at  what  the  world  then  w.'is,  and  compare  it 
with  what  it  now  is;  and  see  that  Christianity,  penetrating  the 
now  Christian  nations,  has  wrought  the  changes  visil)le  in  their 
life,  and  inward  character;  modilied  and  humanized  their  govern- 
ments, enlarged  the  fredom  of  the  })eople,  elevated  woman,  ])ro- 
vided  for  orphans,  and  the  alleviation  of  all  human  suffering; 
and  introdu(;ed  the  graces  of  Christian  benevolence  and  refine- 
ment, and  made  Cln-istendom  the  glory  of  our  world:  wdiere 
Christ  is  acknowledged  its  King,  and  Christendom  is  His 
Kingdom;  and  whei-e  His  army  of  soldiers  three  hundred 
million  strong,  after  nineteen  centuries,  are  going  forth  to  otlier 
nations  conquering  and  to  conquer,  and  laying  down  their 
lives  for  Him,  in  obedience  to  His  command;  and  are  gathei*- 
ing  the  Gentiles  into  His  Kingdom,  doing  it  most  effectually 
by  means  of  the  Christian  enlightenment  that  has  produced 
our  modern  science,  inventions,  and  tiiscoveries. 

All  the  prophets  and  philosophers  taught  before  Christ, 
concerning  tlie  nobility  of  man's  nature,  and  the  glory  for  which 
God  created  him,  was  but  the  shadow  of  the  substance,  and 
higher  revelations  made  by  Him. 


CHAPTER   V. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  JESUS. 


When  Caesar  Augustus  liad  gatliered  all  the  power  of  the 
Roman  Republic  into  his  hands,  and  the  Empire  was  at  peace, 
and  all  the  world  was  expecting  some  extraordinary  event,  four 
years  before  Anno  Domini,  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  in  tlie 
reign  of  King  Herod. 

Augustus  had  issued  a  decree  that  all  tlic  world  should 
be  taxed;  and  Josepli  went  to  Bcthleheui  witli  Mary  his  es- 
poused wife,  being  great  with  child,  to  be  taxed  ;  wliilc  tliere, 
she  was  delivered  of  her  first  born  son.  And  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  appeared  to  tlie  Slieplierds,  and  said  :  "  Behold,  I  l)ring 
you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people. 
For  unto  you  is  born,  this  day  in  the  City  of  David,  a  Saviour, 
who  is  Christ  the  Lord."  And  they  went  to  Bethlehem,  saw 
the  child,  and  repeated  the  angel's  message. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  discredit  St.  Luke's  narrative, 
because  he  says  the  taxing  was  made  when  Cyrenius  was 
Governor  of  Syria;  whereas,  Varrus  was  Governor  when  Jesus 
was  born,  and  Cyrenius  was  appointed  eleven  years  after.  The 
enrollment  may  then  have  begun,  and  its  completion  and  the 
collection  of  the  taxes  may  have  been  first  made  so  mucli  later; 
which  is  highly  probable,  if  we   consider    the  lack  of  speedy 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  25 

communication,  and  that  the  empire  extended  from  the 
Euphrates  to  the  Athmtic,  and  from  the  Rhine  and  Danube  to 
Mt.  Atlas  and  the  Fulls  of  the  Nile,  and  consisted  of  twenty- 
five  Provinces. 

Both  the  Empire  and  the  decree  were  part  of  God's  pre- 
paration for  Jesus'  birth.  His  mother's  home  was  at  Nazareth; 
and  had  He  been  born  there,  Micah's  prophecy  of  Bethlehem 
would  have  failed;  the  Romans  kept  their  archives  with  great 
care,  and  recorded  impoi-tant  events  on  brass, — and  Tertullian 
appealed  to  them  to  prove  Christ's  condemnation  and  death. 

In  those  ways  God  provided,  that  the  world  should  have 
unimpeachable  witness,  outside  of  the  Gospel  and  Disciples  of 
Christ,  to  prove  that  Jesus,  who  was  born  at  Bethlehem,  was  the 
King  of  the  Jews, — as  Pilate  persisted  He  was,  in  the  inscription 
over  His  cross. 

Look,  again,  at  St.  Matthew's  narrative.  He  was  a  Jew, 
collector  of  the  revenue  for  the  Romans,  but  became  Chi-ist's 
disciple, lived  three  years  with  Him,  was  empowered  to  teach  and 
w^ork  miracles,  and  suffered  martyrdom  for  his  faith  in  Him; 
and  wrote  from  personal  knowledge,  or,  possibly,  from  the 
Blessed  Virgin's  own  words,  showing  his  countrymen  that  their 
propliecies were  fulfilled  in  Him  ;  and  he  corroborates  St.  Luke's 
narrative,  and  says  that  He  came  "  to  save  tlie  people  from  their 
sins." 

He  says  Jesus  was  born  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  because 
it  was  customary  to  connect  remarkable  events  with  the  reign  in 
which  they  occurred  ;  and  as  Herod  died  three  years  before 
Anno  Domini,  he  helps  to  fix  the  date  of  Christ's  birth  ;  and  he 
perfectly  identifies  Him  with  many  remarkable  propliecnes,  trac- 
ing His  descent  from  Abraham  ;  while  St.  Luke  wrote  later  and 
for  Gentiles,  and  his  genealogy  traces  the  Blessed  Virgin's  an- 
cestry through  David,  Abraham  and  Noah  to  Adam, — the  father 
of  mankind. 


26  LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  ' 

All  that  is  recorded  respecting  the  thoughts  or  feelings  of  the 
Virgin  Mother,  respecting  her  Miraculous  Child,  until  lie  was 
twelve  jears  old  and  went  with  her  to  tlie  Passover  at  Jerusa- 
lem, is,  "But  Mary  kej)t  all  these  things,  and  pondered  them  in 
her  lieart." 

Here,  then,  is  the  joint  testimony  of  Hebrew  Shepherds, 
Roman  Archives,  of  Holy  angels,  and  Christ's  Evangelists  and 
Apostles,  and  the  name  of  the  Christian  Era,  that  the  child  Jesus, 
who  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  at  Bethleliem,  was  the  long 
expected  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  and  Saviour  of  the  world. 
And  it  looks  as  if  it  wei-e  impossible  to  give  testimony  in  any 
way  more  lii^ely  to  convince  mankind  that  Jesus — so  foretold,  so 
conceived  and  so  born — was  any  other  than  the  seed  of  the 
woman,  and  the  Son  of  God. 

Notwitlistanding  this  strong  basis  of  sacred  and  civil  history, 
on  which  the  birth  of  Jesus  rests,  there  arc  cultivated  ndnds,  at 
least  in  science,  that  reject  the  belief  of  any  Incjarnation  of  a 
Divine  Person  in  Him;  and  regard  the  Gospel  History  as  a 
Christian  legendary  story  of  Judea,  oj-iginated  in  an  age  when 
there  was  great  credulity,  and  little  criticism,  and  that  Christ's 
superhuman  life  and  miracles  are  only  inventions  of  His  disci- 
ples ;  which,  if  not  intended  to  deceive  others,  were  results  only 
of  their  own  deception,  and  grouped  around  Him  as  the  wonder- 
ful being  He  appeared  to  be  to  tlie  unsophisticated  Disciples 
— who  believed  in  Him,  and  recorded  them.  P>ut  tlieir  misled 
intelligence  is  readily  proved  false,  by  fair  criticism  ;  and  it  is 
chiefly  a  lack  of  the  full  knowledge  of  revealed  truth,  which 
leads  such  minds  astray. 

Men  who  study  only  matter,  and  the  forces  and  laws  of  nature, 
and  believe  nothing  they  cannot  understand  or  demonstrate,  are 
iucapalde  of  interpreting  God's  written  revelation  ;  because  it  is 
presented  to  our  faith,  and  can  be  understood  in  no  other  way. 
Indeed,  St.  Paul  says,  it  is  true  also  of  God's  physical  revelation, 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  27 

"  By  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds  were  made  ;  "  and  no 
study  of  the  laws  of  matter  will  tell  the  student  who  their  maker 
was  ;  without  revelation  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  that  the 
world  ever  had  a  beginning,  or  any  Creator,  but  its  own  laws. 
Hence,  such  men  can  never  be  safe  guides  respecting  anything 
revealed  by  God,  and  addressed  solely  to  our  faith;  for,  however 
much  we  can  learn  of  nature's  laws,  without  faith  we  are  com- 
pelled to  admit  that  from  nature  alone  their  Author  is  unknow- 
able. 

If  conceit  and  self-sufficiency  persuade  a  fevv'  men  to  Ije- 
lieve  that  they  are  wiser  than  the  majority  of  intelligent  and 
well  educated  men  of  Christendom,  because  they  doubt  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  deny  their  exact  fulfill- 
ment in  the  New  Testament — in  the  miraculous  conception,  the 
birth,  supernatural  life,  and  the  well  attested  death,  resurrection 
and  ascension  of  Christ  to  Heaven — how  can  they  explain  the 
fulfillment  of  Christ's  prophecies,  which  for  nineteen  centuries 
have  been  unfolding  in  the  progress  and  development  of  men 
and  nations,  mentally  and  morally  ? 

The  absolute  truth  of  Christianity  is  proven  by  the  history 
of  Christian  civilization,  and  by  the  experience  of  individual 
men  for  all  these  Christian  centuries  ;  and  the  whole  tenor  of 
human  faith  and  philosophy  is  the  reasonableness  of  Christianity, 
and  the  unshakable  historical  basis  on  which  it  rests.  And  it 
must  he  by  strict  criticism  of  the  world's  past  history,  and  its 
present  condition,  that  we  shall  attain  the  best  knowledge  of  the 
probability  of  the  truth  of  the  Bil^le,  as  a  revelation  from  the 
God  who  made  us,  and  our  world,  and  has  directed  and  controlled 
all  the  great  events  here  ;  for  no  study  of  the  laws  of  nature,  or 
investigation  of  its  forces,  or  the  elements  and  molecules  of 
matter,  can  tell  us  who  or  what  God  is;  or  how^  He  would  reveal 
His  attributes  of  wisdom,  love  and  mercy  to  His  intelligent 
creatures. 


28  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

God  has  made  a  created  and  written  and  incarnate  revelation 
to  man,  and  tliey  como  to  us  as  parts  of  one  grand  whole.  Tlie 
first  visible  sight  we  see,  is  the  earth  and  the  heavens  ;  and  the 
first  words  we  read  in  revelation  are,  "  In  the  beginning  God 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth."  Both  revelations  are  full  of 
mysterious  laws  and  invisible  forces  ;  each  one  helps  to  explain 
the  other.  Without  the  Bible  man  never  could  have  known  that 
creation  had  a  beginning  ;  and  the  difficulty  with  unbelievers  is, 
that  they  look  at  only  one  side  of  Divine  revelation,  and  attempt 
to  interpret  the  whole  from  that  imperfect  view.  It  is  impossible 
now,  with  our  vastly  increased  facilities  for  investigating  the 
laws  of  nature,  and  all  our  experience,  learned  from  fulfilled 
prophecies,  to  forecast  future  events,  respecting  the  world's 
development,  or  the  destiny  of  nations.  And  the  loftiest  genius, 
and  most  poetically  inspired  imagination,  never  could  have  con- 
ceived of  that  succession  of  human  events,  which  foretold  and 
prepared  the  way  for  Christ's  birth,  or  for  the  revelation  He 
made  that  there  are  three  Divine  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  or 
that  it  was  possible  for  the  incarnation  of  one  of  them,  which 
things  never  were  understood  until  Christ  revealed  them. 

Again,  how  could  a  false  Christ  institute  a  religion  which 
denounces  all  falsehood,  and  demands  truth  and  righteousness 
from  its  disciples  ?  A  religion  that  experience  proves  creates 
men  of  the  highest  types  of  manhood,  and  of  the  purest  morals, 
and  produces  the  highest  social,  civil  and  domestic  happiness.  A 
religion  that  has  been  the  consolation  of  millions  in  the  suffer- 
ings, sorrows,  and  trials  of  life,  and  an  unfailing  support  in 
death  for  nmeteen  centuries.  How  could  a  false  Christ  ordain  a 
ministry,  and  institute  a  Church  to  teach  men  to  be  true  and 
righteous,  and  give  the  world  His  words,  which  show  that  His 
life  was  holy,  and  as  an  example  for  all  mankind  ;  and  a  ritual 
into  which  are  inwoven  the  story  of  His  miraculous  conception, 
His  birth,  and  all  the  extraordinary  events  of  His  earthly  life, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  29 

and  palm  this  on  tlie  world,  and  have  it  received,  and  used  to 
worsliip  Him  as  God,  by  millions  of  the  wisest,  best  and  most 
cultivated  of  our  race  ?  How  could  His  disciples  incorporate 
into  that  Liturgy,  called  by  St.  Paul,  "  A  Form  of  Sound 
Words,"  before  the  death  of  St.  John,  a  festival,  called  Christ- 
mas, to  commemorate  the  birth  of  Jesus,  wliich  has  been  ever 
since  celebrated  ;  and,  as  we  know,  from  certain  history,  on  the 
25tli  day  of  December,  ever  since  A.  D.  137  ?  How  ac- 
count for  the  chronology  of  the  new  Christian  era,  dating  from 
Clirist's  birth,  which  history  teaches  is  more  than  fourteen  centu- 
ries old,  and  now  accepted  by  all  Christendom,  if  Jesus  never 
was  born  at  Eethlehem,  in  the  days  of  Herod,  and  the  reign  of 
Augustus, — and  He  is  only  a  Mythical  Person  ?  And  last,  not 
least,  how  shall  we  account  for  the  mighty  revolutions  and  regen- 
eration, which  has  been  ever  since  going  on  in  the  western  world, 
and  the  extension  of  the  force  and  light  in  Christendom  to  other 
nations,  elevating  them  wherever  they  are  introduced,  raising 
them  above  any  people  that  lived  before  Christ  ?  And  how 
explain  the  difference  of  character  between  men  in  Christendom 
who  believe  in  Christ  and  practice  His  religion,  and  those  who 
deny  that  such  a  Person  ever  lived,  and  follow  only  their  own 
wills  and  corrupt  ways  ?  Until  these  questions  can  be  answered 
more  satisfactorily  than  they  have  yet  been,  the  best  and  most 
enlightened  men  and  nations  will  continue  to  believe  that  the 
child  Jesus,  born  at  Bethlehem,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  was  "  very  God  of  very  God,"  the  long  expected  Sav- 
iour of  our  world. 

When  we  consider  the  mysteries  which  now  enshroud  the 
forces  and  laws  of  matter,  and  of  our  present  life,  and  how  God 
yet  hides  Himself,  and  after  all  the  manifestations  He  has  made 
in  revelation,  creation  and  His  incarnation,  and  of  om-  mysterious 
relation  to  Him — and  the  material  world  into  which  our  bodies 
enter  by  our  birth  and  death — we  cannot  but  believe  that  God 


30  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

devised  the  best  way  possible  to  convince  such  beings  as  we  are 
of  tlio  trutli  of  our  Lord's  incarnation.  And  the  reasonableness 
and  probability  of  the  whole  plan  is  seen,  because  all  the  parts 
and  events  are  in  perfect  harmony  ;  and  as  we  attempt  to  penetrate 
the  manifestations  of  His  power  and  wisdom  in  the  laws  of  na- 
ture, we  iind  similar  mysteries  and  liounds  to  our  investigation 
that  we  encounter  in  the  written  revelation,  and  in  oui  own 
being.  And  tliis  is  conclusive  proof,  that  the  God  who  created  us 
was  incarnate  to  I'edeem  us,  and  was  born  of  the  Yii-gin  Mary  ; 
and  Avhoever  will  not  believe  it  on  sucb  testimony  as  God  has 
given  us,  would  not  believe  it  on  any  testimony  He  coidd  give. 
It  is  not  probable  that  they  would  have  believed,  because  tlie  in- 
carnation was,  and  must  forever  be,  the  next  greatest  mystery  to 
man  after  God  and  creation;  and,  as  it  has  proved,  the  greatest 
blessing  God  has  ever  given  man  ;  and  the  higliest  token  of  His 
love  and  mercy  towards  us  ;  and  the  strongest  reason  we  have 
to  love,  believe  in  and  adore  Him  ;  therefore,  it  is  probable  that 
anv  other  mode  chosen  by  Him  would  have  failed  to  overcome 
their  unbelief. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


JESUS'  CIRCUMCISION  AND  PRESENTATION 
IN  THE  TEMPLE. 


Our  "World's  History  testifies,  in  an  unbroken  stre.im  of 
blood,  from  Adam's  first  sacn-ifice,  until  the  last  great  sacrifice 
of  Christ,  that  there  is  no  remission  of  sins  without  shedding  of 
blood. 

God's  first  covenant  with  man,  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
was  in  the  blood  of  animals,  wliich  looked  by  faith  to  Christ's 
atonement.  His  second  covenant  was  in  man's  own  blood  by 
circumcision,  which  was  a  higher  symbol  of  Christ's  blood,  as 
the  Son  of  Man  ;  and  this  continued  until  Christ  came  ;  and  the 
last  covenant  is  in  His  own  blood  ;  for  the  night  before  His  cru- 
cifixion, in  the  institution  of  tlie  Blessed  Sacrament,  He  said  of 
the  Cup  :  "  This  is  my  blood  of  the  New  Covenant,"  as  if  it 
were  the  completion  of  the  sacrament  of  baptism. 

The  first  covenant  was  the  germ  from  which  the  last  one 
was  developed,  and  was  to  last  until  the  world's  end  ;  and  they 
are  correlated  as  mysteriously  as  the  great  forces  in  nature,  be- 
cause the  first  two  were  types  of  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb,  slain 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world  for  the  remission  of  its  sins. 

When  Jesus  was  eight  days  old.  He  was  circumcised 
according  to  the  law  ;    and  the  name  Jesus  was  given  Him,  as  He 


32  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

was  so  named  by  the  Angel.  This  was  His  covenant  name,  and 
signitied  to  all  who  received  it  circumcison  of  the  heart;  and 
the  cutting  off  the  corruptions  of  the  flesh,  inherited  from 
Adam,  and  justifying  tlie  receiver  by  faith  in  a  coming  Messiah  ; 
and  the  faitli  of  the  parents  was  the  ground  of  justification  ; 
and  they  were  responsible  to  God  to  see  their  children  trained 
for  Him,  until  they  were  old  enough  to  take  their  vows  on 
themselves. 

The  name  Jesus  signifies  His  oftice,  "  for  He  shall  save  His 
people  from  their  sitis."  The  original  name  was  Osliea;  but 
Moses  added  to  it  Jah,  one  of  the  tithîs  of  the  Son  of  God, — and 
contracted  to  Joshua,  with  a  Greek  termination  it  means  "  God 
uill  save  us." 

These  little  mysterious  details,  and  correlated  links  in  Jesus' 
name  and  history,  and  the  long  chain  of  prophecies  which  pre- 
ceded His  birth,  exactly  correspond  to  tlie  mysteries  in  the  laws 
and  forces  of  nature  ;  and  so  assure  us  that  the  God  of  creation 
and  revelation  is  one  God. 

i>ut  why  should  Jesus,  if  He  was  sinless,  submit  to  a  rite 
which  signified  the  remission  of  sins  ?  The  reason  is  revealed, 
that  as  He  took  a  human  nature  into  His  Divine  nature,  as  the 
Son  of  Man,  He  came  to  fulfill  the  Law,  and  restore  by  His 
obedience  what  Adam  lost  by  disobedience  ;  and  His  first  act 
was  the  painful  shedding  of  His  OAvn  blood  ;  and  it  was  tlie  be- 
ginning of  perfect  obedience,  and  atoning  blood-shedding,  which 
were  to  perfect  His  human  nature,  and  make  propitiation  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world. 

The  first  Adam's  sin  destroyed  his  original  righteousness, 
lost  him  God's  favor,  and  introduced  suffering  and  death  into 
this  world.  Now,  the  obedience  and  suffering  of  the  second 
Adam  were  to  bring  righteousness  and  eternal  life  to  all  man- 
kind, who  would  believe  and  obey  Him  ;  and  the  covenant  of 
circumcision  had  been  two  thousand  years  looking  to  His  com- 


LIFE    OF    CHU  I  ST.  33 

ing  to  abolish  it  and  institute  a  better  one,  with  better  helps  to 
keep  it. 

Moreover,  the  first  Adam  was  created  an  adult,  and  so  was 
no  example  for  children;  and  would  not  have  been,  had  he 
maintained  his  original  righteousness.  But  the  second  Adam 
was  created  an  infant,  and  passed  through  infancy  and  (childhood 
sinless;  and  through  all  the  stages  of  life  a  holy  man,  to  be  an 
example  in  all.  And  His  circumcision  was  the  key  note  to  His 
M'holc  life,  for  he  said:  "  I  came  not  to  do  My  own  will,  but 
the  will  of  the  Father  who  sent  Me  ;  and  I  do  always  the  things 
that  are  pleasing  to  Him."  The  rite  bound  the  child  to  take 
his  (covenant  on  himself,  as  soon  as  he  was  old  enough  to 
understand  it  ;  and  this  Jesus  did  when  He  was  twelve  years 
old. 

By  the  Mosaic  Law  every  mother  giving  birth  to  a  male 
child  "  shall  continue  in  the  blood  of  her  purifying  eight  days," 
until  her  child  was  entered  into  covenant  with  God  by  circum- 
cision ;  and  for  "  thirty-three  days  more  she  shall  touch  no  hal- 
lowed thing,  nor  come  into  the  sanctuary  ;  "  but  when  the  days 
of  her  purification  are  ended,  she  shall  bring  a  yearling  lamb  for 
a  burnt  offering,  and  a  young  pigeon,  or  a  turtle  dove,  for  a  sin 
offering,  unto  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle  of  the  Congregation, 
unto  the  priest  ;  M'ho  shall  offer  it  before  the  Lord,  and  make  an 
atonement  for  her;  and  she  shall  be  clean  from  the  issue  of 
blood.  "  And  if  she  be  not  able  to  bring  a  lamb,  then  she  shall 
bring  two  turtle-doves,  or  two  young  pigeons — one  for  a  burnt 
offering,  and  the  other  for  a  sin  offering,  and  the  priest  shall 
make  an  atonement  for  her,  and  she  shall  be  clean." 

In  obedience  to  the  law,  when  the  mother's  purification  was 
ended,  she  carried  Jesus  to  Jerusalem,  when  He  was  forty  davs 
old,  and  presented  Him  to  the  Lord.  The  pains  of  child-birth 
being  part  of  the  penalty  for  Eve's  disobedience,  and  entailed  on 
her  posterity  ;  the  sacrifice  of  the  lamb  or  doves  was  an  acknowl- 

a 


3-1  LIFEOFCHRIST. 

edfçoncnt  of  lier  personal  demerit,  and  an  emblemafic-al  transfer 

of  her  guilt  and  its  penalties  to  the  victim  slain. 

That  taking  of  Jesus  to  the  Temple,  to  be  presented  to  the 
Lord,  fulfilled  Mnlachi's  pi-ophecy,  "  The  Lord  shall  come  sud- 
denly to  His  Temple;"  for  the  first  place  Jesus  visited  after  His 
birth  was  the  Temple,  -which  He  had  come  to  glorify  and  to 
abolish  its  worship. 

There  was  also  a  further  act  of  obedience  to  the  law,  in 
presenting  Jesus  in  the  Temple,  because  every  male  child  was 
required  to  be  presented  to  the  Lord,  and  redeemed  from  thi' 
priestly  office  and  Temple  service,  by  the  payment  of  five  shekels 
— about  three  and  three-quarter  dollars — which  service  was  first 
jDcrformed  at  the  Tabernacle. 

This  incident  also  has  a  profound  interest,  showing  the  inti- 
mate relations  of  the  three  great  stages  of  the  development  of 
Christianity  ;  the  priesthood  of  the  primitive  Church  was  ap- 
pointed by  God  in  every  first-born  son,  who  was  to  offer  sacrifice, 
and  minister  before  Him;  and  the  priestly  son  was  a  type  of 
God's  only  Son,  and  His  eternal  priesthood,  and  also  of  the  unity 
of  the  Godhead,  under  which  He  first  revealed  Himself  to  man. 
•"  The  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord."  And  this  lasted  for  twenty- 
.five  centuries,  until  Moses'  time. 

Then  God  came  down  on  Mount  Sinai,  and  reformed  the 
priesthood  and  ritual — the  three-fold  priesthood  being  a  type  of 
the  J3oly  Trinity,  and  of  the  Christian  priesthood  Christ  would 
institute.  And  to  show  the  connection  between  the  two  dispen- 
sations, and  preserve  the  doctrine  of  tlie  unity  of  the  Godhead, 
the  law  for  the  redemption  of  the  first-born  was  made. 

In  these  mystical  ways,  God  was  four  thousand  yeai-s  pre- 
paring ior  Christ's  coming  to  the  Temple  as  its  Lord  ;  and  f ul- 
tilling  JLiggai's  prophecy,  "  The  glory  of  the  latter  house  shall 
be  greater  than  the  glory  of  the  former."  Because  the  glory  of 
the  Lord's  invisible  presence  filled  Solomon's  Temple,  Init  the 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  35 

Temple  built  by  Herod  was  glorified  by  the  visiljle  prcscnee  ot 
God's  incarnate  Son  ;  by  the  miracles  He  wrouglit  there  ;  and 
by  the  Father's  voice  from  Heaven,  declaring  Him  His  Son. 

And  this  act  is  memorable,  from  the  double  witness  of  two 
devout  Israelites — the  first,  after  the  angels,  to  acknowledge 
Jesus  as  the  Christ.  Simeon  was  expecting  the  Messiah,  for  the 
Holy  Ghost  revealed  to  Him  that  He  should  not  die  until  he  had 
seen  the  Lord's  Christ  ;  and,  when  Jesus  was  in  the  Temple,  he 
took  Him  in  his  arms,  and  blessed  God  that  he  had  seen  His 
salvation — "Prepared  before  all  people,  a  light  to  lighten  the 
Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  Thy  people,  Israel  !  "  And  his  anthem 
has  ever  since  been  a  precious  treasure  of  Christ's  Church.  And 
Simeon  blessed  them,  and  said  to  Mai-y,  "  Behold,  this  Child  is 
set  for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel  ;  and  for  a 
sign  which  sliall  be  spoken  against  ;  yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce 
through  thy  own  soul,  also."  She  lived  to  see  the  prophecy  pain- 
fully fulfilled. 

Meanwhile,  a  new  witness  appeared  in  the  prophetess  Anna. 
As  Simeon  finished  his  prophecy,  she  came  in  and  thanked  the 
Lord  ;  and  spake  of  Jesus  to  all  them,  who  looked  for  redemp- 
tion in  Israel. 

Wlien  the  parents  had  performed  all  things,  according  to 
the  Law,  they  returned  to  Naxareth  ;  and  there  they  remained 
until  the  next  great  events  in  Jesus'  life — of  the  visit  of  the 
Magi,  and  His  flight  into  Egypt. 

Mary's  example  in  presenting  her  Child  to  the  Lord  is  a 
lesson  for  all  mothers  ;  and  the  great  and  good  men  of  all  times 
have  been  trained  by  pious  mothers.  Hannah  took  her  child 
Sanmel  to  the  Lord's  Tabernacle,  to  devote  him  to  His  service  ; 
Elisabeth  was  the  miraculous  mother  of  the  Baptist,  because  she 
was  righteous;  and  Mary,  highly  favored  by  God,  to  be  the 
Mother  of  Jesus,  because  of  her  righteousness.  Christianity  had 
its  earthly  origin  from  those  pious  mothers,  and  their  examples 


36  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

should  inspire  all  mothers  to  faithfulness  in  training  their  chil- 
dren. 

Tlie  Blessed  Virgin's  place  in  Theology  is  between  the  two 
extremes  of  an  immaculate  conception  and  disrespect.  Tlie  idea 
of  her  perpetual  virginity  is  pleasing  to  an  esoteric  mind  ;  and 
God  could  easily  liave  maintained  it  liad  He  chosen  so  to  do,  and 
tliere  M'ould  be  no  difficulty  in  believing  it,  did  the  Gospel  so 
teach. 

But  there  is  no  prophecy  giving  such  an  intimation,  and  no 
words  in  the  Gospel  teaching  tliat  any  special  reverence  be  paid 
her;  and  tlie  fact  that  she  offered  the  sin  offering  of  the  law  for 
her  purification,  proves  that  she  is  included  in  Adam's  sinful  race; 
and  tlie  saying,  "  Joseph  knew  her  not  until  she  brought  forth 
her  first  horn  Son,^''  warrants  the  belief  that  she  afterward  had 
children. 

If  marriage  was  not  a  sacred  appointment  by  God,  there 
might  be  some  probability  of  her  perpetual  maidenhood  ;  and  no 
special  honor  is  assigned  her  in  the  Gospel,  except  "  all  nations 
shall  call  her  blessed."  And  neither  the  Epistles,  Creeds,  nor 
tlie  Epistles  of  Clement  and  Polycarp — both  ordained  by  the 
Apostles — nor  the  Œcumenical  Councils  say  anything  of  her 
immaculateness,  or  perpetual  virginity,  or  of  any  worship  to  be 
paid  her  ;  and  these  things  are  not  even  sacred  traditions,  bec^ause 
it  was  nearly  three  centuries  after  Christ  before  they  were  so 
broached. 

The  four  Evangelists  speak  of  Jesus'  brothers  and  sisters, 
not  cousins  or  relatives,  as  the  Jews  often  used  the  words;  but 
uterine  relatives.  And  Christ's  ever  cautious  words  to  His 
mother  shows  that  He  forsaw  the  idolatry  in  the  future,  and 
warned  against  it.  And  His  words  to  her  at  Cana:  "  Woman, 
what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ?"  though  not  disrespectful,  accord- 
ing to  their  common  usage,  declare  that  she  had  no  part  in  His 
Messianic  work.     And  again,  when  He  was  told  His  mother  and 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  37 

brethren  desired  to  speak  with  Him,  He  said:  "Whosoever 
shall  do  the  will  of  God,  tlie  same  is  My  brother,  and  sister,  and 
mother  ;"  showing  that  discipleship  to  Him  is  as  great  an  honor 
as  being  His  mother.  She  belonged  to  the  old  Dispensation, 
was  eminent  for  her  rigliteonsness,  which  was  of  the  law;  in  her 
that  righteousness  ended,  to  spring  again  to  the  spiritual  right- 
eousness of  the  Gospel,  by  faith  in  her  immaculate  Son. 

Tlie  three  views  now  held  of  the  Blessed  Virgin's  place, 
are  :  First,  that  she  is  the  immaculate  mother  of  the  Son  of 
God,  entitled  to  worship,  and  our  intercessor  in  Heaven;  but 
Christ  is  the  only  one  born  of  woman  in  Heaven,  and  she  is  in 
Paradise.  Second,  Mary  was  only  a  pure  and  pious  Jewess, 
chosen  to  be  the  mother  of  Christ,  and  entitled  to  no  more  rev- 
erence than  any  great  benefactor  of  our  race.  Third,  that  she 
was  the  holiest  woman  under  tlie  law,  the  Yirgin  mother  of 
God's  incarnate  Son,  and  ever  to  be  remembered  and  loved  ; 
this  view  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  has  embodied  in  her  Creed, 
and  held  from  the  Apostles'  time  to  our  own.  And  while  the 
Church  neither  invokes  her  intercession,  nor  worships  her,  she 
fuMlls  the  Gospel  requirement  "  to  call  her  Blessed  "  by  two  great 
yearly  festivals  in  her  honor. 

The  expectations  of  a  Virgin,  to  give  the  world  a  son,  its 
Saviour,  sustained  the  heart  and  hopes  of  God's  people  four 
thousand  years  ;  and  ever  since  the  belief,  that  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin was  the  mother  of  Christ,  has  helped  to  confirm  men's  faith 
in  Him,  and  to  spread  His  religion. 


CHAPTER   VIL 


VISIT    OF    THE    MAGI. 


St.  Matthew  is  the  only  Evangelist  who  mentions  the  visit 
of  the  wise  men  of  the  Eiist  to  Jesus,  saying,  "  in  Herod's  reign 
they  came  to  worship  Him,  as  the  King  of  the  Jews."  Herod 
(lied  before  Jesus  was  two  years  old,  and  this  is  all  known  of  the 
time. 

The  term  Magi  affords  no  clue  to  discover  from  whence 
they  came,  because  the  name  was  common  to  a  sect  of  philoso- 
pliers  in  Chaldea,  Media,  Persia,  Syria,  Greece  and  Rome  ;  and 
Cicero  says,  "in  Persia  they  comprised  a  college  that  assembled 
monthly,  and  no  man  could  be  king  who  did  not  belong  to  the 
order  ;  they  interpreted  dreams  and  prophecies,  and  directed 
public  affairs." 

The  sect  was  widely  spread;  and  all  that  is  known  of  these 
men  is,  fliat  they  were  Gentiles;  and  their  coming  to  Jerusalem 
shows  that  they  knew  the  Hebrew  prophecies,  and  lielpcd  to 
confirm  them,  and  that  Jcsns  was  their  Messiali  ;  and  they  make 
an  important  link  in  the  chain  of  testimony,  that  the  birth  of 
Jesus  was  expected  by  Gentile  nations  as  well  as  the  Jews  ;  be- 
cause the  Psalmist  said,  "  The  kings  of  Tarshish  and  tlie  Isles 
shall  bring  presents,  and  the  kings  of  Sheba  and  Seba  offer 
irifts,"  it  is  supposed  the  Magi  were  these  persons;  but  the  tradi- 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  39 

tion— that  thej  were  kings  descended  from  Noah — f which  all 
mankind  now  are)  is  not  older  tl)an  the  fourth  century. 

Whether  the  wonders  attending  Jesus'  annunciation  and 
birth  had  reached  the  people  the  Magi  represented  or  not,  their 
coming  is  important  testimony  to  confirm  the  Gospel  ;  ])ecause  it 
is  incidental,  and  was  not  inserted  to  corroborate  it.  Wliile  their 
report  to  Herod,  that  they  liad  come  to  worship  Jesus  implied 
only — that  Oriental  reverence  paid  to  kings  ;  and  it  aroused  his 
fears  lest  He  would  be  a  rival  for  his  tin-one.  And  tlie  people 
were  troubled  because  they  knew  his  horrid  character,  and  prob- 
ably feared  the  slaughter  that  followed. 

And  their  inquiry  for  the  king  of  the  Jews,  sliows  that  they 
expected  Herod  would  be  as  glad  as  themselves  that  the  Saviour 
was  born  ;  and  the  star,  they  saw  in  the  East,  identified  the  child 
they  sought  wdtli  both  Hebrew  and  Gentile  prophecies.  For  Ba- 
laam in  Mesopotamia  fifteen  centuries  before,  and  Isaiah  in  Israel 
eight  centuries  before,  had  foretold  tlie  Messiah — as  a  star  out  of 
Jacob,  and  a  light  to  lighten  tlie  Gentiles,  "  and  that  kings  should 
come  to  the  brightness  of  His  rising." 

The  appeal  of  the  Magi  to  Herod,  and  his  appeal  to  tlie 
Council  of  the  Jews,  to  learn  where  Clu'ist  would  be  born,  are 
important  testimony  to  the  identity  o'f  Jesus,  and  the  fultilhnent 
of  propliecy.  When  they  learned  that  Betlilehem  was  the  place, 
Herod  charged  them  to  find  the  Child,  and  bring  him  word  that 
he  might  come  and  worship  Him. 

Herod's  attempt  to  deceive  the  wise  men  was  frustrated,  be- 
cause the  Holy  Child  Avas  in  the  keeping  of  the  King  of  Kings. 
And  tlms  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  in  this  first  enmitj^  sliown  to 
the  child  Jesus,  that  "  tlie  kings  of  the  earth  take  counsel  to- 
gether against  the  Lord  and  His  anointed  ;  "  because  Herod 
acted  in  the  interests  of  Augustus  as  well  as  himself. 

The  star  that  led  the  Magi  to  Jerusalem,  there  disappeared  ; 
and  appeared,  again  when  they  departed  to  seek  Jesus,  and  went 


40  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

before  them  until  it  stood  over  the  house  where  He  was.  It  had 
tlie  appearance  of  a  star,  hut  prophecy  said  it  would  be  a  new 
light.  "  A  star  shall  arit^e."  It  was  a  miraculous  tomporai-y  orb 
sent  1)y  God  for  a  special  purpose.  If  it  had  been  a  planet  of 
our  sohir  system,  it  would  have  been  remembered  hy  Jew  and 
Gentile  forever  ;  and  it  was  no  planetary  conjunction — because  in 
leadin<^'  the  men  to  Jerusalem,  it  moved  in  a  northwest  rly  direc- 
tion, and  in  going  to  Nazaretli  wliere  Jesns  was,  its  course  was 
due  north;  and  no  known  conjunction  of  planets  could  have 
caused  such  motions. 

It  is  certain  Jesus  was  not  at  Bethlehem,  because  St.  Luke 
says,  forty  days  after  birth  He  was  taken  to  Jerusalem,  and  went 
from  tliere  to  His  home  at  Nazareth,  where  he  remained  until 
the  flight  into  Egypt  —  more  than  a  year.  Entering  the  house, 
the  Magi,  as  representatives  of  the  Gentile  world,  worshipped 
Jesus  as  the  King  of  the  Jews,  and  the  long-expected  Saviour 
of  the  woi'ld.  The  offerings  they  made  expressed  their  faith  in 
Ilis  royalty  as  King  ;  in  His  Divinity,  as  the  anointed  of  God  ; 
and  in  His  priesthood  and  sacrifice.  He  had  come  to  inaugurate 
and  offer. 

The  Magi,  warned  in  a  dream  by  God  not  to  return  to 
Herod,  departed  to  tlieir  own  country  another  way.  If  they 
had  found  Jesus  at  Bethlehem,  the  warning  would  not  have  been 
needed  ;  but  if  He  were  at  Nazareth,  it  was  important,  as  his- 
tory proN'es,  that  they  should  not  report  it  to  Herod.  Otherwise, 
the  children  of  Nazareth  would  have  been  slaughtered;  and  the 
prophecy  of  Jeremiah — of  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children — 
would  have  failed  of  fulfillment;  and  the  first  martyr  witnesses 
for  Jesus,  would  not  have  l)cen  at  Bethlehem. 

Herod's  order  to  kill  all  children  from  two  years  and 
under,  "according  to  the  time  that  he  diligently  inquired  of  the 
wise  men,"  proves  that  Jesus  was  neither  recently  born,  nor  at 
Bethlehem.     But  his  atrocious  murder  of  the  infants,  is  histo- 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  41 

rical  confirmation  of  the  birth  of  Jesus — the  Messiah  of  the 
Jews,  and  Saviour  of  mankind  ;  and  they  were  prototypes  of 
tlie  painful  way  His  mission  in  their  human  nature  wouhl  end  ; 
and  they  have  ever  since  been  witnesses,  tliat  Jesus  was  born  in 
the  days  of  Herod  the  king. 

Tlie  liistorical  character  of  tliat  debauched  old  king,  proves 
that  he  would  be  likely  to  do  such  an  atrocious  deed.  His  reign 
of  forty  yeai's  had  been  a  series  of  plunder,  and  murder,  and 
brutality  ;  he  had  strangled  a  wife,  murdered  a  son,  and  high 
priest  who  was  his  relative  ;  and  burned  and  drowned  nobles,  so 
that  Jewish  ambassadors  to  the  Roman  Emperor  declared,  that 
"  survivors,  during  his  life  time,  were  more  miserable  than  the 
sufferers  ;"  and  the  blood  of  the  innocents  of  Bethlehem,  was 
but  a  drop  in  comparison  with  the  stream  that  flowed  through 
his  reign. 

The  murderers  must  have  been  many,  and  their  work  nearly 
simultaneous;  and  the  wail  of  anguish  from  the  bereaved 
mothers,  was  predicted  by  their  great  ancestress  Rachel,  who 
died  in  travail  there  seventeen  centui'ies  before,  and  was  buried 
at  Bethlehem  ;  the  wail  of  agony  by  the  dying  mother,  "  by  a 
beautiful  poetic  figure,  was  said  to  weep  passionately  for  her  off- 
spring, because  she  beheld  them  torn  from  her."  This  slaughter 
was  caused  by  the  report  of  the  Scribes  to  Herod  and  the  Magi, 
and  that  all  children  imder  two  years  were  slain  ;  Jesus  must 
then  have  been  more  than  one  year  old,  and  Herod's  death  soon 
after  confirms  it.  All  these  details  concentrate  like  so  many 
rays  to  a  focus  to  prove  the  certainty  of  the  birth  of  Christ,  as 
the  expected  Messiah. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  death  of  any  man  whose  end  was 
more  wretched  than  Herod's,  or  more  cei'tainly  by  direct  visita- 
tion from  God  ;  while  he  was  sinking  in  intolerable  anguish, 
from  a  loathsome  disease,  the  corruption  of  the  grave  was 
already  begun  in  him  :  and  he  spent  the  last  weeks  of  his  life  in 


42  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

savnge  frenzy  ;  tortured  l)y  a  guilty  conscience,  surrounded  bj 
liatiug  and  plotting  sons,  and  thieving  slaves,  and  a  detesting 
l)eople,  knowing  liis  death  was  near,  and  that  no  tears  would  be 
siied  for  him  ;  as  the  last  act  of  his  infamous  life  he  ordered, 
under  penalty  of  death,  that  some  of  the  principle  families  of 
jiis  Kingdom  should  come  to  Jericho  ;  and  shutting  them  in  the 
Hippodrome,  he  secretly  commanded  his  sister  Salome  to  have 
them  massacred  as  soon  he  died.  And  so  still  plotting  blood 
shedding,  wdiile  dying,  he  passed  into  the  Kingdom  of  the  dead; 
but  his  dying  order  was  not  executed.  The  people  were  so  glad 
of  his  death  that  they  instituted  a  festival  to  rejoice  for  it.  His 
sons  died  in  infamy,  or  exile,  and  before  the  century  ended  his 
name  was  extinct. 

As  soon  as  tbe  Magi  departed,  the  Angel  of  the  Lord 
warned  Joseph,  in  a  dream,  of  Plerod's  evil  intentions  toward 
Jesus,  and  the  family  departed  to  Egypt;  the  intercourse  be- 
tween Palestine  and  Egypt  had  been  frequent  for  centuries,  and 
they  had  only  to  pass  the  boundaries  between  the  two  countries, 
and  they  would  l)e  safe  from  Herod's  power.  And  there  were 
two  causes  for  this  flight;  one,  to  save  Jesus  from  Herod's 
power;  the  other,  to  fuliill  the  prophecy,  "  Out  of  Egypt  have  I 
called  My  Son."  This  looked  as  if  the  Messiah  were  to  be  born 
there  ;  but  is  another  link  in  the  mystical  chain  of  prophecy, 
which  is  so  like  the  laws  of  nature,  that  it  also  helps  to  conlirm 
our  belief  that  one  God  is  the  author  of  both. 

No  Evangelist  tells  wliere  Jesus  abode  in  Egypt,  nor  how 
long  He  lived  there;  but  tradition  says  it  was  near  Cairo;  and 
the  time  of  His  return,  in  Arclielaus  reign,  renders  it  prol)able 
that  He  was  there  not  many  months  ;  because  Herod  died  within 
two  years  after  Jesus'  birth,  and  his  son's  reign  began. 

When  Herod  was  dead,  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  again  ap- 
peared to  Joseph  in  a  dream,  telling  him  to  return:  "for  they 
are  dead  who  sought  the  young  child's  life."     The  Greek  is  to 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  43 

paidion^  wliich  shows  Jesus  was  not  an  infant  ;  and  His  depart- 
ure  from  Egypt  was  before  His  abode  there  would  be  renieni- 
bered,  or  exert  any  influence  on  His  mind.  The  time,  appar- 
ently, was  near  the  Passover;  and  so  as  a  descendant  of  Israel, 
He  was  called  out  of  E<>ypt,  by  God,  as  His  earthly  ancestors 
Avere  flfteen  centuries  before  ;  but  when  Joseph  came  to  Pales- 
tine, and  heard  Archelaus  reigned,  he  was  afraid  to  go  to  Naz- 
areth. And  well  he  might  be  ;  because  in  the  beginning  of  his 
reign  he  murdered  three  tliousand  of  his  subjects,  and  the 
country  was  infested  with  lawless  men  and  robbers;  but  God 
told  him,  in  a  dream,  to  go  to  Galilee. 

Galilee  had  been  a  long  time  the  abode,  or  resort,  of 
Phœnecians,  Arabs,  Greeks,  and  Romans  to  suctli  an  exteut,  that 
it  Avas  called  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles;  and  to  its  little  town  of 
Nazareth  Joseph  went  ;  and  there  Jesus  passed  His  cliihlhood, 
youth,  and  manhood,  in  obsciurity,  until  He  began  His  public 
ministry.  And  prophecy  said  Christ  would  be  called  a  Naz- 
arine,  though  it  did  not  name  Nazareth  ;  but  the  Hebrew  word 
Nezer,  from  which  the  name  was  derived,  means  also  a  branch  ; 
and  several  prophets  call  Christ  "  the  Branch,  and  He  shall 
grow  up  out  of  His  place;"  and  Pilate's  last  witness  for  Christ 
was  putting  the  insciiption  over  His  head,  "  This  is  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  the  King  of  the  Jews  ;"  and  by  all  tlieso  occult  ways, 
God  chose  to  furnish  future  generations  powerful  proofs  that  He 
was  the  Messiah,  and  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour. 

The  name  was  applied  to  Clirist,  because  He  is  the  Branch 
who  grew  up  at  Nazareth  ;  and  not  bectiuee  He  was  a  Nazarine 
a  sect  of  tlie  Jews,  to  which  tlie  Baptist  belonged,  for  He  never 
belonged  to  it.  The  town  was  contemned  by  the  Jews,  gener- 
ally ;  and  when  Pliilip  told  Nathaniel  thai  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
was- the  Prophet  foretold  by  Moses,  he  asked:  "Can  any  o-ood 
thing  come  out  of  Nazareth?"  And  the  Scribes  urged  it, to 
Nicodemus,   thar    Clirist    could   not    be    Messiah,    "for   out    of 


44 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 


Galilee  arisetli  no  prophet."  Nazariiie  was  given  as  a  term  of 
reproaeli  to  Clu'ist  and  His  discdples  ;  but  He  was  not  asliamed 
of  it,  but  applied  it  to  Himself  after  His  resurrection,  and  ap- 
pointed Galilee  as  the  place  to  meet  His  disciples;  for  He  for- 
saw  how  the  name  would  help  to  contii*m  men's  faith  in  Him. 


CHAPTER   VIIT 


JESUS'     BOYHOOD. 


St.  Luke  is  tlie  only  Evangelist  who  says  anything  of  Jesus 
childhood,  after  his  return  from  Egypt  until  his  twelfth  year, 
"  The  child  grew  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit,  and  the  grace  of 
God  was  upon  Him." 

What  God  has  concealed,  I  would  not  lift  the  veil  from 
were  it  possible.  But  there  is  a  lesson  in  it.  For  what  is  revealed 
in  a  mystery,  is  designed  to  exercise  our  faith  and  intellect.  And 
it  is  the  same  in  His  revelation  in  nature's  laws  and  forces.  By 
investigation  we  perceive  God's  wisdom,  and  there  is  a  wonder- 
ful harmony  in  all  His  revelations. 

The  little  revealed  of  Jesus'  boyhood  proves  that  He  was 
perfect,  and  such  as  might  have  been  expected  from  His  super- 
human manhood.  The  same  mystery  envelopes  it  as  seen  in  His 
conception,  and  in  who,  or  what,  would  be  the  seed  of  the 
woman. 

And  how  unlike  it  is  to  human  biographies,  whi(;h  relate  all 
the  earliest  manifestations  of  genius  in  men  who  become  famous  ; 
and  it  is  especially  unlike  what  might  be  expected  from  the  men' 
who  wrote,  after  they  had  witnessed  His  extraordinary  subse- 
quent life,  when  they  must  have  known  the  interest  future 
generations  would  feel  in  every  event  of  His  earthly  life.     The 


46  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

silence  is  so  unlmnian  that  it  must  liave  been  directed  by  God; 
yet  all  is  in  perfect  harmony  witl»  all  the  prophecies  concerning 
Ilim,  It  proves  how  different  God's  M'ays  are  from  man's;  Avit- 
nesses  to  the  sincerity  of  tlie  narrative  ;  and  is  wonderful  that 
nothin    wonderful  is  related  of  His  boyhood. 

Whereas  the  Apo(;hryplial  Gospels  relate  many  boyish  mir:i- 
cles  and  fictitious  acts,  which  convince  us  that  the  Evangelists 
wrote  as  they  were  directed  by  the  Holy  Ghost;  because  there  is 
no  attempt  to  make  an  interesting  story  of  his  l)oyhood,  and  no 
heralding  of  His  coming  glory  as  the  Messiah  ;  no  promise  of 
His  wonderful  works,  or  doctrines  ;  and  the  little  said  is  simple, 
and  testifies  that  His  life  was  holy. 

And  the  way  His  youth  is  portrayed  is  evidence  of  the  truth 
of  the  narrative  ;  that  it  is  neither  invention  nor  fiction,  but  the 
fulfillment  of  the  prophec}',  referring  to  Christ's  youth.  "  He 
shall  grow  up  before  Him  as  a  tender  plant,  and  a  root  out  of  dry 
ground."  His  early  life,  doubtless  was  like  other  village  children 
of  Nazareth;  like  other  cliildren  he  was  born  unconscious,  and 
learned  by  observation  and  experience  ;  impressed  by  the  scenes 
and  scenery  around  Him,  in  a  lovely  rural  region,  where  He 
heard  the  languages  and  saw  the  costumes  and  customs  of  many 
countries,  which  influenced  His  mental  development. 

Yet  St.  Luke's  saying,  "  the  grace  of  God  was  in  Him," 
denotes  that  He  had  another  source  of  spiritual  development  not 
in  other  children  ;  and  its  unconscious  influences  made  Him  inno- 
cent and  holy  as  no  other  child  was  before  or  since.  But  there 
are  no  instances  of  the  flashes  of  His  Divine  life,  or  niind,  as 
there  would  have  been  had  the  Gospel  l)een  an  inventi(^n,  or  even 
written  l)y  human  direction,  or  to  give  reputation  to  a  mytJiical 
person,  t)r  an  iiuaginary  Christ,  to  deceive  the  world  ;  and  yet 
it  is  exactly  in  accordance  with  idl  God's  words  and  works — 
simple,  natural,  and  as  might  be  expected  from  the  pi'ophecies 
concerning  Him.     And  in  His  childhood  He  would  not  be  likely 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  47 

to  atttract  any  more  notice  tlian  any  good  and  intelligent  child, 
but  Fie  did;  for  He  grew  in  favor  Avitli  men,  while,  probabl  , 
His  lioly  life  and  filial  obedience  were  known  only  to  His  Blessed 
Motlier. 

WJien  Jesus  was  twelve  years  old,  His  parents  took  Him  to 
tlie  Passover  at  Jerusalem,  "  after  the  custom  of  the  feast."" 
This  is  tlie  next  and  last  glimpse  of  His  boyhood.  Hebrew 
parents  trained  their  cliildren  for  confirmation  ;  and,  in  that  rite, 
they  took  their  covenant  vows  on  themselves;  and,  afterwards, 
were  called  Suns  of  the  La^v.  The  age  of  responsibility  differs 
in  cliildren  ;  and  that  Jesus  was  taken  at  twelve,  denotes  an  early 
intellectual  and  religious  development. 

History  says  nothing  of  schools  for  children  in  Cralilee. 
But  Hebrew  parents  were  required  by  the  Law  to  instruct  their 
children;  and  texts  of  Scripture  were  put  up  in  their  houses, 
and  woven  into  their  garments  ;  and  writing  was  chiefly  confined 
to  the  Scribes.  The  neighbors  testified  after  He  began  His  mis- 
sion, that  He  never  attended  schools,  and  wondered  at  His  knowl- 
edge and  learning;  but  his  spiritual  knowledge  doubtless  came 
by  communication  from  His  Divine  nature,  and  that  helped 
His  human  nature  to  other  knowledge. 

Jewish  children,  after  confirmation,  were  taught  some  trade  ; 
and,  as  Jews  and  Egyptians  commonly  taught  children  the  father's 
trade,  Jesus  learned  from  Joseph  the  trade  of  a  carpenter  ;  for  the 
people  asked,  after  He  began  His  ministry,  "  Is  not  tliis  the  Car- 
penter, the  Son  of  Mary  ?  " 

As  Joseph  and  Mary  returned  from  Jerusalem,  after  a  day's 
journey,  they  missed  Jesus,  and  went  back  to  seek  Him.  From 
this  incident,  we  learn  the  most  extraordinaiy  event  in  His  early 
life  ;  and  the  only  words  recorded  that  He  spake  until  His  thir- 
tietli  year.  After  three  days,  they  found  Him  in  the  Temple, 
hearing  the  doctors  and  questioning  them  ;  and  astonishing  them 
by  His  wisdom  and  answers. 


48  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

His  mother  askod  why  lie  luid  so  dealt  with  them,  nnd  saîd, 
"  Tliy  father  and  I  have  sought  Thee,  sorrowiiif^.'"  And  lie  an- 
swered, in  the  mysterious  words,  "  Do  you  not  know  that  I  must 
he  ahout  My  Father's  business  ?"  A  flood  of  light  emenates  from 
these  words,  as  to  His  knowledge  of  His  Divine  nature  ;  and  it 
seems  tliat,  on  the  day  He  was  confirmed,  His  human  mind  first 
became  conscious  of  its  union  with  His  Divine  nature  :  and  of 
the  nature  of  His  mission  in  this  world  ;  and  that  not  Joseph, 
but  God,  was  His  Father. 

And  the  words  must  liave  recalled  to  the  mother's  mind 
Jesus'  mii-aculous  conception  ;  the  Angel's  message,  at  Hisl)irth  ; 
and  the  wonders,  at  His  presentation  in  the  Temple — which  slie 
had  treasured  in  her  maternal  heart,  and  with  a  mother's  hope 
and  ambition,  pride  and  love.  And  she  saw,  witli  the  quickness 
of  her  womanly  and  motherly  instinct,  that  Jesus  knew  that 
Joseph — whom  she  called  His  father — was  not  His  Father  :  nor 
the  Father  whose  business  He  must  be  about. 

And  there  is  a  lesson  for  all  the  world  in  tlie  example  of  the 
parents  and  the  Child.  They  entered  Jesus  into  God's  covenant 
when  eight  days  old  ;  took  Him  to  the  Temple,  to  be  pi-esented 
to  the  Lord  in  infancy,  and  to  be  confirmed  at  twelve  ;  and  used 
all  the  means  God  appointed  in  His  law  and  Church,  to  train  the 
Child  righteously. 

They  did  not  wait  for  Jesus  to  be  old  enough  to  choose  His 
religion — wdiether  He  would  be  Jew  or  Gentile — but  used  their 
authority  to  train  Him,  according  to  God's  covenant.  And  it  is 
a  lesson  for  all  parents  tolling  tliem  that  training  cliildren  in  obo- 
dience  to  God's  ways,  is  the  way  to  God's  favor  and  liappiness 
here,  and  to  His  kingdom  in  heaven  hereafter. 

Thus  Jesus  hallowed  His  infancy  and  childhood  with  the 
beauty  of  holiness,  and  left  His  example  for  ail  children.  The 
prophets  had  taught  men,  by  God's  conmiand,  "Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am 
holy."     But  they  were  sinners  themselves,  and  their  message  was 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  49 


lightly  received  ;  but  Cliiist  tanglit  it  all  His  life  by  His  example. 
T]iis  stage  of  Jesus'  boyhood  closed  with  these  woi'ds,  that 
His  parents  did  not  understand  what  He  meant  by  His  Father's 
business;  but  "  He  went  down  with  them  to  Nazareth,  and  was 
subject  unto  them."  Tliere,  the  curtain  fell.  "  He  was  subject 
to  His  parents  ;  and  thus  gave  the  lessons  to  all  children — of 
earnestness  in  doing  God's  will,  and  obedience  to  parents.  "  But 
His  mother  kept  all  these  sayings  in  her  heart."  She  knew  she 
was  the  mother  of  a  superhuman  Child,  knew  He  would  be  a 
Great  Prophet,  and  hoped  He  might  be  the  Messiah;  but  had  to 
wait,  in  doubt,  thirty  years,  until  He  began  His  puljlic  ministry. 


■-i_o  {j-[ 


CHAPTER  IX. 


JESUS'  YOUTH  AND  MANHOOD. 


This  period  includes  the  eighteen  years  of  Jesus'  life,  be- 
tween the  twelfth  and  thirtieth  years,  which  he  spent  at  Naz- 
areth, and  prepared  Himself  for  His  Divine  Mission.  All  the 
Evangelists,  except  St.  Luke,  pass  it  unnoticed  ;  and  while  it  is 
useless  to  speculate,  on  what  God  purposely  conceals,  it  is  not 
unprofitable  to  consider  the  rays  of  light  that  flash  out  in  the 
few  words  respecting  it  ;  because  all  the  mysteries  of  Divine 
revelation  in  creation,  in  the  Bible,  and  incarnation  are  designed 
to  awaken  curiosity,  and  lead  us  to  a  fuller  understanding  of 
His  works  and  ways,  and  are  threads  and  clues  to  other  myste- 
ries. And  the  single  sentence  in  St.  Luke  is  like  a  torch  in  a 
dark  cavern,  that  throws  its  light  before,  and  enables  us  to 
penetrate  further  into  its  darkness.  We  learn  from  these  few 
words,  respecting  Jesus'  retired  years  at  Nazareth,  something  of 
its  results,  and  of  God's  reasons  for  it. 

Indeed  the  hiddcrness  of  Jesus'  life  all  those  years,  and  the 
silence  as  to  what  He  did,  and  said,  and  how  He  passed  them, 
is  exactly  like  the  mystery  which  hung  for  four  tliousand  years 
over  tl\e  popliecy  of  the  seed  of  the  woman,  and  the  mystery  of 
the  Messianic  propliecies,  nud  the  mystery  of  His  incarnation, 
and  of  the  prophecies  of  Simeon  and  Anna,  whose  meaning  was 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  51 

unknown  for  tliirty  years  ;  and  like  all  the  revelations  God  has 
made  in  the  forces  and  laws  of  nature,  and  the  mystery  which 
still  liides  the  time,  and  place,  when  and  where  Christ's  second 
coming  will  be. 

Jesus'  retirement  in  Nazareth,  was  by  God's  direction, 
and  part  of  His  infinitely  wise  plan  to  prepare  Him,  as  the 
Son  of  Man,  for  the  great  work  He  had  come  to  accomplish 
as  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  it  was  a  way  to  anticipate  and  remove 
any  possible  suspicion,  that  He  owed  His  power  and  wisdom 
to  human  culture,  or  occult  science  obtained  from  man  ;  He 
attended  no  school  of  the  Propliets,  or  Rabbi's,  and  sat  at  the 
feet  of  no  Gamaliel  to  prepare  Him  for  His  perfect  triumph 
over  the  learned  Scribes,  Pharisees,  Doctors,  and  Lawyers 
whose  cunning  and  learning  He  singularly  baffled. 

Unrecognized  and  unknown  as  the  Messiah,  He  had  time 
and  leisure  to  make  such  prepai-ation  as  His  human  nature 
required,  to  fit  Him  for  His  earthly  mission,  and  lielp  the 
world  to  believe  in  Him  as  its  God  and  Saviour.  But  it  is 
revealed,  that  while  Jesus  was  thus  hidden.  He  "  increased  in 
wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  favor  with  God  and  man." 

The  home  where  Jesus  passed  these  hidden  years  was 
humble  and  poor,  but  it  had.  a  mother  of  angelic  purity  and 
piety,  and  a  reputed  fatlier  who  trusted  in  God  ;  and  Jesus'  own 
Divine  nature — known  only  to  Himself — made  that  house  a  place 
of  such  earthly  love  and  peace  as  the  world  never  before,  nor 
since,  has  had.  For,  though  the  radiance  of  the  Godhead  was 
hidden  in  Jesus,  the  beauty  of  His  holiness  could  not  be  con- 
cealed ;  though  it  might  have  been  known  by  the  l)lessed 
inmates — without  their  knowing  the  cause — because  His  brethren 
doubted  His  Messiahship,  even  after  He  began  His  teaching  and 
miracles. 

Jesus'  human  mind  developed — like  all  others — by  reflec- 
tion and  experience,  by  observation   and  str#dy.      Schools   for 


52  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

1  i-aining  the  prophots  liad  existed  in  Palestine,  from  the  âiiys  of 
Samuel;  and  schools  for  training  young  men  were  established 
there  a  century  licforc  ;  but  the  prol)abilities  are  against  Jesus 
ever  attendins:  them.  The  last  words  which  aniuauiced  His  en- 
trance  into  tliat  dark  period  of  retirement,  and  tlie  ast(jnishing 
words  wliich  He  spake  on  emerging  from  it,  are  two  ends  in  the 
links  of  an  invisible  cliain,  wliich  help  us  to  some  reasonable 
conje<;tures  as  to  what  passed  within  it. 

Because  it  is  certain,  lie  could  never  have  come  out  of  it,  so 
thoroughly  prepared  for  His  first  great  mission, with  such  knowl- 
edge of  men  and  things,  and  the  Holy  Scriptures,  without  some 
ntlier  preparation  than  His  condition  and  surroundings  furnished 
— prepared  to  confound  by  His  logic,  and  to  silence  by  His  knowl- 
edge, the  most  learned  men  of  His  nation  and  times. 

The  influence  of  the  lovely  scenery,  unsuipassed  by  any  in 
the  Holy  Land, — which  was  visible  from  the  neighboi'hood  of 
^'azareth — and  the  mixed  population  of  Galilee,  have  been  men- 
tioned as  probably  exerting  an  influence  on  His  developing  mind 
:ind  manhood  ;  for  no  one  can  grow  up,  amid  such  scenery  of 
1  leauty  and  sublimity,  without  being  impressed  by  it. 

The  little  town  of  Nazai-eth  was  built  on  the  side  of  a 
hill,  which  rises  six  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  and  overlooks 
other  distant  mountains  and  lovely  valleys.  To  the  north  lies  a 
fej-tile  plain,  from  which  rises  the  woody  hills  of  Naphtali  ;  and 
1  icyond,  on  the  far  horizon,  Hermon  upheaves  into  the  blue  sky 
— the  huge  and  splendid  mass  of  his  colossal  shoulders,  white 
witli  perpetual  snow.  Eastward — a  few  miles  distant — is  the 
great  woody  sunnnit  of  Tabor,  clothed  with  tcrebrinth  and  oak; 
;;nd  westerly  is  seen,  through  the  pure  air,  the  purple  ridge  of 
Carmel,  and  the  dazzling  line  of  Avhite  sand  that  fringes  the 
Mediterranean  sea  ;  and  southerly,  in  graceful  outlines,  are  little 
Hermon,  and  Gilboa,  and  the  famous  plain  of  Esdnelon. 

This  region — where  Jesus  passed  those  eighteen  years,  and 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  o3 

prepared  for  liis  life  work — was  tlie  lieart  of  the  land  of  Israel  ; 
îmd  it  was  separated  hy  onlj'  a  narrow  boundary  of  hills  and 
streams  from  Phoînccia,  Syria,  Arabia,  Babylonia  and  E,<>'ypt  ; 
and  the  Isles  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the  i^dorious  region  of  Europe, 
were  almost  visible  over  the  Western  Sea.  And  Jesus  was  in  the 
heart  of  tlie  world  He  had  come  to  save. 

There  Jesus  grew  to  manhood,  and  there  He  labored  as  a 
carpenter,  and  forever  hallowed  mannal  lalior — made  it  l^oth 
honorable  and  glorious,  as  done  by  the  hands  of  ihe  Man,  Wiio 
was  in  union  with  God,  Who  built  the  worlds.  And  there  He 
a{;quii-ed  that  earthly  learning  and  wisdom,  which  enabled  Him 
to  emerge  from  its  obscurity  as  a  blazing  meteor  on  the  horizon 
of  time  ;  and  to  astonish  the  world  with  an  astonishment,  which 
lias  increased,  in  wonder  and  intensity,  for  nineteen  centuries. 

In  all  those  years,  Jesus  lived  and  increased  in  knowledge, 
through  the  inflnence  of  the  two  spheres  of  His  existence  in 
His  single  Personality.  His  human  nature  was  subject  to  all  the 
limitations  of  matter,  time  and  sense.  He  had  the  same  feelings, 
the  same  hopes  and  fears,  the  same  temptations,  and  desired,  and 
vastly  greater  sorrows  than  other  men.  His  life  was  all  self- 
restraint,  self-denial,  and  self-renunciation,  such  as  no  other  man 
ever  felt,  in  keeping  hidden  the  Divine  Life,  which  grew  more 
and  more  conscious  within  him. 

That  He  increased  in  wisdom,  as  He  grew  in  stature,  is  saying 
that  His  mental  development  followed  the  common  lav»'-s  of  man- 
kind, and  His  human  nature  accpiired  knowledge  exactly  as 
others  do;  yet  He  had  another  kind  of  spiritual  development, 
peculiar  to  Himself,  and  such  as  no  other  man  or  prophet  ever 
had.  It  was  the  operation  of  His  Divine  nature  on  His  human 
nature,  which  enabled  Him  to  acquire  knowledge  easily;  and 
through  that  influence,  as  He  grew  in  stature.  He  grew  in  favor, 
both  with  God  and  man. 

The  favor  with  God,  was  from  His  submission  to  the  condition 


54  LIFE    OF    CHRIST 

appointed  llim,  and  obedience  to  His  laws  in  it:  Hispatient, 
■willing,  waiting,  in  obscurity,  unknown  to  the  world  lie  had 
fume  to  redeem  ;  and  His  faithfulness  in  making  such  prepar- 
ation as  was  in  llis  powder  to  prepare  Himself  for  His  public 
mission  ;  as  He  afterwai-ds  said,  "  I  do  always  the  things  ivJiich 
please  the  Father.-''  And  His  favor  with  man  was,  lje(;ause  He 
was  always  meek  and  lowly,  thoughtful  and  tender  of  others  feel- 
ings, and  universally  courteous,  as  we  shall  see  in  considering 
His  after  life. 

If,  then,  in  this  interval,  He  attended  no  school,  learned 
nothino-  from  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  belonged  to  no 
Jewish  sect,  and  acquired  nothing  from  the  literature  and 
philosopy  of  Greeks,  Romans,  Egyptians  or  Persians — for  He 
never  alludes  to,  or  quotes  them  in  His  teaching,  except  from 
JEschylus  once — there  is  no  way  to  account  for  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  which  He  brought  forth  from  that  seclusion,  when  He 
l»urst  with  such  splendor  on  the  world — wiser  than  the  wisest  and 
oldest  scholars  of  His  day,  and  to  use  them  as  no  prophet  ever 
did;  but  from  the  fact,  that  they  were  superhumanly  derived, 
from  a  superhuman  source. 

Doubtless  He  applied  all  the  resources  within  His  reach, 
and  all  the  powers  of  His  human  mind  to  the  task  l)efore  Him  ; 
that  He  studied  and  mastered  a  knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, and  the  laws  and  wonders  of  the  natural  world,  as  His 
constant  allusions  to  them  show"  the  most  perfect  knowledge  of 
them  ;  and  the  great  book  of  human  life  and  character,  of  which 
there  was  such  diversities  in  the  manifold  nationalities  of  His 
native  land  ;  and,  above  all.  He  was  taught  oy  that  WORD  OF 
GOD,  which  St.  John  calls  His  Divine  Nature,  which  was  in 
Him.  ' 

Palestine  was  a  Roman  Province  :  a  Roman  Governor,  and 
Rom'an  soldiers,  and  adventurers  were  everywhere,  and  Latin 
must  have  been  a  common  language  ;  a  dialect  of  Greek  was  also 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST  55 

common  among  the  people,  and  most  of  the  New  Testament  was 
written  in  it, — and  without  knowledge  of  these,  Jesus  would  not 
have  been  prepared  for  His  work  ;  and  though  He  probably 
habitually  thought  and  spoke  in  His  native  Aramean  dialect.  He 
certainly  conversed  in  Greek  and  Latin  and  Hebrew  ;  Ijecause  He 
quoted  the  exact  words  of  the  Greek  Septuagint,  as  well  as  the 
Hebrew  version  ;  and  He  changed  some  of  His  Apostle's  names 
from  Syriac  to  Greek,  and  spake  to  Greeks  in  the  Temple  ;  and 
He  also  knew  Latin,  or  He  could  not  have  talked  with  Roman 
soldiers,  nor  Pontius  Pilate  ;  and  the  common  use  and  knowledge 
of  these  languages  may  be  inferred  from  the  inscription  Pontius 
Pilate  put  over  the  crucified  Saviour's  head,  in  Heln-ew,  Greek, 
and  Latin, — that  all  who  saw  might  know,  "THIS  IS  THE 
KING  OF  THE  JEWS."  And  because  He  was  so  learned. 
He  so  easily  baffled  the  plotting  of  enemies,  who  tried  to  entrap 
Him  in  His  words  ;  and  it  is  also  implied  by  the  question  the 
Jews  asked  in  the  Temple  :  "  How  knoweth  this  man  literature, 
having  never  learnedy 

It  was,  therefore,  by  Plis  own  personal  application  and  self- 
culture,  quickened  by  the  light  reflected  from  His  Divine  nature, 
that  Jesus,  using  all  the  means  within  reach  in  His  retirement, 
and  at  intervals  of  leisure  from  His  daily  work,  that  He  acquired 
the  knowledge  requisite  for  His  Human  nature  to  begin  His  pub- 
lic ministry  ;  and  the  evidence  that  he  had  that  superhuman  help  is 
certain  from  His  remark  in  the  temple  in  boyhood, — "  I  must 
be  about  My  Father's  business,"  which  was  such  a  revelation. 

Those  hidden  years  showed  by  their  results  on  Jesus,  when 
He  appeared  as  Christ,  that  they  had  been  devoted  not  only  to 
acquiring  human  knowledge,  but  also  to  practicing  the  Christian 
virtues  He  came  to  teach,  and  which  made  His  after  life  so  Di- 
vine, and  His  doctrines  so  far  beyond  what  the  world  had  ever 
before  heard  or  imagined.  And  this  silent  life  outshadowed  to 
the  world  some  most  useful  lessons  ;  out  ot  this  darkness  shines 


56  LIFE    OF    CHlilST. 

the  example  of  Jesus'  huiiiility,  and  patient  waiting  all  these 
years,  to  prepare  Himself  to  be  recognized  by  the  Father  as 
His  Beloved  soiT,  and  to  teacli  all  mankind  that  woi-ldly  culture 
and  helps  are  not  essential  to  make  human  life  successful  ;  that 
we  may  live  unknown  by  men,  and  yet  be  known  of  God,  and  be 
trained  by  Him  to  do  this  life's  work  well  in  the  luiml>lest  home, 
and  most  retired  walks  of  life. 

Jesus'  holy  boyhood  and  youth  developed  into  a  holy  man- 
liood  away  from  the  excitement  and  turmoil  of  the  busy  world, 
and  daily  occupied  in  manual  labor,  by  meditation  and  prayer,  and 
Using  His  time  as  best  He  could  at  intervals  for  personal  culture, 
He  gave  a  perpetual  example  for  the  encouragement  and  conso- 
lation of  the  masses  of  mankind,  who  are  doomed  to  common 
place  and  uneventful  lives  ;  and  showed  them,  that  it  is  possible 
in  humble  homes  to  prepare  for  honor  and  usefulness,  and  favor 
with  God  and  man;  surely  this  is  no  unimportant  lesson  to  learn, 
and  for  the  comfort  of  God's  hidden  saints,  from  the  unwritten 
record  of  those  hidden  years. 

Jesus'  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  was  shown, 
in  the  frequency  and  appropriateness  with  which  He  quoted  and 
applied  them  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Prophecies,  and  how 
they  related  to  Him.  When  he  began  His  mission,  He  read  in 
the  Synagogue  a  prophecy  of  Himself,  and  said  :  "  This  day,. is  this 
fulfilled  ;"  when  He  was  tempted  of  the  devil,  He  repelled  him  by 
"  It  is  written  ;"  and  when  the  Jews  souglitto  kill  Him,  because 
He  disregarded  the  Saljbath,  and  claimed  to  be  its  Lord,  and 
"  called  God  His  Father,  making  Himself  equal  with  God,"  He 
said  to  them,  "  Ye  indeed  search  the  Scriptures,  for  iii  them  ye 
think  ye  have  eternal  life  :  and  they  are  they  which  testify  of 
Mer  This  was  said  ironically  ;  it  is  the  indicative,  and  not  im- 
perative, as  in  the  English  version. 

And  when  we  come  to  consider  His  doctrines,  then  will  be 
seen  the  glorious  proofs  of  His  Divine  origin,  and  perfect  origi- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST, 


57 


nnlity,  which  must  have  come  from  God  alone,  because  they  so 
transcend  all  tliat  was  ever  before  known  or  tanglit  by  man;  and 
as  He  once  told  His  disciples  He  had  food  that  they  knew  not 
of,  so  also  is  it  probable  that  he  received  wisdom  and  knowledge 
from  God,  in  those  yeai's  of  preparation  for  Plis  appearing  as 
the  Christ,  which  no  man  knoweth  of,  and  which  could  have  been 
communicated  by  no  one  l)ut  God.  Jesus'  enemies  confessed  He 
spake  as  man  never  spake,  and  to  show  their  inconsistency  in  not 
1)elieving  in  Him  asked  how  He  knew  letters,  having  never  learn- 
ed, and  thus  became  witness  against  themselves,  showed  that  they 
were  excuseless  for  rejecting  Him.  Then  God  caused  that  seem- 
ing void  of  eighteen  years,  so  deep  that  no  human  mind  has  yet 
been  able  to  fatliom  it  ;  that  men  then,  and  to  the  world's  end, 
might  see,  and  know,  and  believe,  that  while  He  spake  as  man 
never  spake.  He  also  tauglit  what  none  but  God  could  have 
t  luoht  Him. 


CHAPTER   X. 


JESUS  ANNOUNCED  AS  THE  CHRIST. 


Centuries  before  Christ,  two  prophets  announced  that  He 
would  be  preceded  by  a  Forerunner,  to  prepare  His  way  ;  and 
Malachi  called  him  Elijah  the  propliet,  because  he  would  be  a 
bold  rebuker  of  sin  like  him,  and  (;all  men  to  repent  as  a  pre- 
paration for  admission  into  Christ's  kingdom. 

Three  Evangelists  mention  John's  appearing,  and  two  of 
them  relate  incidents  that  show  lie  began  his  cry  in  the 
wilderness,  about  one  year  before  Christ  began  His  ministry. 
St.  Luke  says  it  was  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  Tiberius'  reign, 
when  Pilate  was  Governor  of  Judea  ;  Herod  tetrarch  of 
Galilee,  and  Annas  and  Caiaphas  were  high-priests,  that  John 
preaclied  saying,  "  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  make 
straight  a  highway  in  the  desert  for  our  God." 

God  had  mysteriously  revealed  the  time  and  manner  of 
Jesus' birth,  and  of  His  messenger's  coming;  but  He  provided 
that  John's  ministry  should  make  such  a  record,  as  tliat  the 
Jews  then,  and  future  generations,  could  not  reasonably  doul)t, 
l)ut  that  he  was  sent  by  Him  to  prepare  Christ's  way.  The 
group  of  names  mentioned,  and  the  time  in  wliich  they  lived 
and  their  characters,  all  unite  to  establish  the  truth  of  the 
narrative. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  59 

After  John  had  preaclied  about  a  year,  tlie  new  doctrines 
of  confession,  repentance,  and  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins  ; 
and  the  people  were  aroused  hj  liis  boldness  in  rebuking  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  calKng  them  a  generation  of  vipers, 
great  multitudes  began  to  follow  him,  and  some  supposed  him 
to  be  Christ  ; 

Then  the  Jews  sent  a  delegation  of  Priests  and  Lévites  to 
ask  him,  "  Who  art  thou  ?  "  and  he  said,  lie  was  neither  Christ, 
nor  Elias,  nor  tliat  prophet  ;  and  when  they  urged  him  to  tell, 
"  Who  art  thou  ?  "  he  answered,  "  I  am  tlie  voice  of  one  crying 
in  the  w-ilderness,  make  straight  the  way  of  the  Lord,  as  said  the 
prophet  Isaiah."  And  they  asked  again,  "  Why  baptisest  thou, 
if  thou  be  not  Christ,  nor  Elias,  nor  that  prophet  ?  "  This  shows 
that  tlie  Jews  were  expecting  the  Messiah,  and  that  He  would  be 
a  reformer,  and  rebuker  of  sin. 

Then  John  announced  Christ  as  about  to  appear,  saying, 
"  I  baptize  with  water  ;  but  there  standetli  One  among  you, 
Whom  ye  know  not  ;  He  coming  after  me,  is  preferred  before 
me,  whose  shoe's  latchet  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose  ;  He  shall 
baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  ûre  ;  He  will  purge 
His  floor,  gather  the  wheat  into  the  garner  ;  but  He  will  burn 
up  the  chaff  with  unquenchable  Are  ;  "  and  it  is  a  synopsis  of 
the  whole  work  Christ  came  to  do. 

No  other  way  imaginable  could  better  testify,  that  John 
was  Christ's  messenger,  and  that  He  had  already  come,  "  stand- 
ing among  you  ;  "  and  his  message  w- as  revolutionar}^,  struck  a 
death  blow  at  Judaism,  which  had  become  a  mere  formalism  ; 
the  spirit  of  the  law  was  dead,  and  the  people  trusting  to  a  ritual 
and  ceremonial  righteousness  for  salvation:  and  John's  teaching 
ignored  its  covenant,  sacrifice,  and  ceremonial;  and  he  called 
them  to  the  new  covenant  in  baptism,  that  He  who  was  coming 
would  make  to  convey  regeneration,  and  forgiveness  of  sins,  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


60  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

This  was  tlie  boi^-inning  oi  John's  preparation  for  Christ,  to 
transfer  Judaism  to  Christianity  ;  and  the  transition  period 
histed  until  Christ  finished  His  ministry,  and  S3nt  the  Jloly 
Ghost  to  inaugurate  the  New  Dispensation.  John's  work  was 
the  link  l)etween  the  Law  and  the  Gospel  ;  lie  began  the  change 
from  ceremonial  and  sacrifice,  to  the  worship  in  spirit  and  truth 
that  Chritt  instituted. 

The  people  were  in  the  darkness  and  shadow  of  death, 
deeply  needing  reformation  ;  and  th.e  rulers  were  corrnpt,  and 
at  no  time  before  could  the  changes  Cluàst  came  to  make,  have 
been  accomplished  without  shocking  the  feelings,  and  causing 
violence  of  the  people.  Thus  things  looked,  near  the  end  of 
John's  mission. 

Then  came  Jesus  from  Galilee  to  Jordan,  to  be  baptized  of 
John  ;  but  John  forbade  Him,  saying  he  had  need  to  be  baptized 
of  Him.  He  had  known  Christ  from  childhood,  and  knew  Him 
to  be  more  righteous  than  himself;  but  he  did  not  know  that  He 
was  the  Christ.  And  it  looks  as  if  John's  work  in  awakening  the 
people,  was  God's  signal  to  Christ  to  l)egin  His  woi'k  :  for  He 
said,  to  John's  refusal  :  "  Suffer  it  to  be  so  now  ;  for  thus  it 
becometh  us  to  fulfill  all  righteousness." 

Under  tlie  Law,  obedience  gave  righteousness  ;  and  Christ 
showed  that  He  had  come,  not  to  destroy,  but  fulfill  the  Law. 
His  baptism  was  to  sanction  Jolui's  ministry,  as  well  as  manifest 
His  obedience,  and  to  begin  His  ministr3\ 

AVater  was  used  in  religious  ceremonies,  with  other  nations 
l)eside  the  Jews,  as  a  symbol  of  purity  and  cleansing,  and  espec- 
ially before  anointing  a  king  or  high  priest  ;  and  Christ  was  going 
lO  institute  Ijaptism,  as  the  new  covenant  in  His  blood,  for  regen- 
erating and  cleansing  men  from  Sin  ;  and,  as  the  sign  and  seal  of 
dlsciplesliip  to  Him. 

When  Jesus  was  baptised,  as  He  went  up  out  of  the  Avater, 
the  Heavens  were  opened,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  descended  like 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  61 

a  clove,  lighting  upon  Ilim.  All  the  ancient  pictures  of  His  l>up- 
tism  represent  Him  as  standing  in  the  Avater,  and  John  pouring 
it  on  Him;  and  the  baptisms  of  the  Law  were  made  chiefly  by 
sprinkling  ;  and  St.  Paul  speaks  of  Christ,  as  "  the  Mediator  of 
the  New  Covenant,  and  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  which  speaketh 
better  things  than  the  blood  of  Abel." 

Jesus  was  praying  as  He  came  out  of  the  water,  v.dien  the 
Heavens  were  opened  ;  and  the  lirst  act  after  His  consecration 
was  prayer  ;  and  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  the  sign 
given  John  by  God,  to  know  the  Mightier  One,  who  would  l)ap- 
tise  with  the  Holy  Gliost.  And  as  it  was  the  dove,  which  bi-onglit 
the  sign  to  Noah,  to  signify  that  tlie  temporal  ruin  man's  sin  had 
wrought  upon  the  earth  was  passing  away,  so  now  the  dove  was 
the  herald  of  the  greater  Ijlessing — Christ  had  come  to  bring,  to 
repair  the  world's  moral  ruin. 

"  And  Lo  !"  a  voice  from  Heaven,  saying,  "  This  is  My  Be- 
loved Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  Thus,  for  the  firbt 
time  since  creation,  were  the  Three  Divine  Persons  of  the  God- 
liead  represented  as  on  earth  together,  and  concuring  in  the  con- 
secration of  Christ's  human  nature;  for  His  earthly  mission,  and 
the  acknowledgement  of  His  Sonship  by  the  Father,  was  the 
reward  He  received  for  His  obedience.  And  His  was  the  first 
Christian  baptism,  and  the  type  of  all  future  t>aptism^.  Christ, 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  consecrated  water  to  forever  convey  spiritual  u 
regeneration,  which  it  did  not  under  the  LaW;  ma  tiiat  was  the 
meaning  of  His  "  baptizing  with  the  Holy  Gihos-t,.  and  with  fire." 
Thus  began  Christ's  regal,  priestly  hikI  pro|>hetical  mission,  as 
the  Messiah,  and  Saviour  of  the  world. 

And  John  said,  "  1  saw,  and  bear  record  that  this  is  the  Son 
of  God," — that  is,  as  the  Messiah  ;  for  he  had  no  knowledge  then 
that  Christ  was  a  person  of  the  Godhead.  That  consecration  was 
the  first  step  towards  preparing  to  set  up  tlie  kingdom  of  David, 
and  of  God,  tliat  would  never  end  ;  and  probably  there  was  no  day 


82  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

in  Christ's  life  He  looked  forward  too  more  anxiously  thaï  this,  be- 
cause Ho  was  to  emerge  fVom  obscurity  into  the  turmoi!  and  ex- 
citement of  the  World  ;  and  knew  all  the  trials  and  suffering  He 
would  endure,  before  He  said,  on  the  cross,  "  It  is  finished." 

By  His  own  act,  Christ  ehniiijed  the  covenant  in  the  blood  of 
man  and  animals,  to  tlie  new  and  easier  covenant  by  water  and 
the  Spirit,  in  His  own  blood;  by  which  men  could  be  made  par- 
takers of  His  righteousness,  and  iidieritors  of  the  kin.dom  of 
Heaven  ;  and  tlie  descent  of  the  Spirit,  shoM'ed  how  the  baptized 
are  made  spiritual  children  of  God. 

But  John's  witness  was  not  finished  ;  lie  had  announced 
Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  it  remained  for  him  to  declare  His 
mission  in  such  a  way  that  in  all  future  times  men  might  believe 
and  know  that  He  was  the  Christ. 

The  next  day  John  saw  Jesus  coming  to  him,  and  said, "Be- 
hold the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketli  away  the  sins  of  the  World  ;" 
yesterday  He  called  Him  the  Son  of  God,  but  now  he  said,  "  He 
is  the  Lamb  of  God,  slain  to  take  away  the  sins  of  the  World  ;" 
and  thus  at  the  opening  of  His  ministry,  John  told  how  it  would 
end;  calling  Christ  the  Lamb  of  God,  was,  to  the  Jewish  mind, 
an  explanation  of  all  their  sacrifices,  and  of  the  coming  Saviour  ; 
and  John  and  two  of  his  disciples  followed  Christ,  and  He  turned 
and  said  to  them,  "  What  seek  ye  ?  "  He  knew  their  motive,  and 
their  longing  to  know  more  respecting  Him  ;  and  they  answered, 
''Rabbi,  where  dwellest  thou?"  He  said,  "come  and  see;"  and 
they  went  and  remained  with  Him  that  night.  John  knew  Jesus 
well  ;  and  this  new  address  of  "  Rabbi,"  showed  that  the  wonders 
at  the  baptisms  had  caused  new  reverence  for  Him  ;  Rabbi,  be- 
ing also  the  title  of  a  learned  man. 

Andrew  was  one  of  John's  disciples,  who  went  with  them  to 
Christ  ;  and  when  he  saw  his  brother  Peter,  he  said,  "  We  have 
found  the  Messias,"  and  he  brought  him  to  Christ;  and  He  said  to 
him,  "Thou  shall  be  called  Peter,  a  rock;"  thus,  Jesus'  next  act 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  63 

was  calling  two  disciples,  whom  John's  testimony  had  pursuaded 
to  believe  in'  the  Messiah  ;  and  John  so  far  confirmed  the  pro- 
phecy, that,  in  the  power  and  spirit  of  one  like  Elias,  he  had 
proved  himself  the  forerunner. 


3-»»- 


CHAPTER   XI. 


CHRIST  ON  THE  JORDAN.  AND  IN  GALILEE. 


All  attempts  to  harmonize  or  chronologically  arrange  the 
events  of  Christ's  public  ministry  have  failed  ;  God  lias  not  so 
revealed  them;  the  Gospels  are  so  fragmentary  and  disjected, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  reduce  their  records  to  any  connected 
order;  and  the  attempt  liere  is  approached  with  humility  and 
difildence,  relying  on  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  who 
inspired  theh*  writers. 

As  Jesus  was  baptized  in  the  Jordan,  so  also  did  He 
immediately  begin  His  mission,  as  the  Christ,  there.  No 
mention  is  made  of  the  way  in  which  He  spent  the  remainder 
of  the  day  of  His  baptism  ;  but,  as  He  came  out  of  the  water 
praying,  it  is  probable  it  was  passed  in  retirement,  meditatichi 
and  prayer. 

John's  report  concerning  Him,  increased  the  excitement 
created  by  the  wonderful  scene  at  His  baptism  ;  and  the  valley 
of  the  Jordan,  which  means  the  river  of  judgment,  and  the  ford 
of  Bethabara,  or  the  house  of  passage,  were  fitting  places  for 
Christ  to  begin  His  ministry  ;  who  had  come  as  a  reliner's  tire  on 
the  Jews,  and  to  transfer  the  old  kingdom  of  Israel  to  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven, — announced  by  John  as  at  hand. 

From  the  time  of  Abraham,  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  liad 
been  sacred-classic  ground,  and  the  scene  of  many  remarkable 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  65 

events.  "Wlien  the  Isralites  came  out  of  Egypt,  God  jndged 
them  there;  and  turned  them  back  to  wander  hi  the  wilderness, 
until  all  the  adults,  except  Caleb  and  Joshua,  died  ;  and  when 
the  children  returned,  as  the  priests'  feet,  who  bore  the  Lord's 
Ark,  tour',hed  the  Jordan's  water,  it  parted  to  let  them  pass  on 
dry  ground  ;  and  there  the  ravens  fed  Elijah,  there  its  waters 
had  opened  for  him  and  Elisha,  and  from  there  he  went  to 
Paradise  in  a  chariot  of  fire  ;  there,  Naaman  was  cleansed  of 
his  leprosy;  there,  David  slew  the  lion  and  the  bear;  and,  now 
Christ  passing  through  its  waters,  was  preparing  to  destroy 
Satan's  power,  and  open  the  way,  across  the  Jordan  of  death 
for  all  lielievers,  to  the  Promised  Land  of  Heaven. 

John's  baptism  of  Jesus  was  the  culminating  act  in  his 
ministry,  and  his  prophecy  began  to  be  fulfilled  :  "  He  must 
increase,  but  I  must  decrease  ;  "  and  from  that  day  the  multi- 
tudes who  had  followed  John,  flocked  to  Christ;  and  as  He 
was  returning  to  Galilee,  accompanied  by  His  three  disciples, 
they  met  Philip,  a  townsman,  and  he  joined  them  ;  and  Philip 
told  Nathaniel  they  had  "found  Him  whom  Moses,  the  Law, 
and  the  Prophets  foretold,"  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  Son  of 
Joseph."  This  shows  they  knew  nothing  of  His  divine  con- 
ception ;  but  that  they  did  know  well  the  prophecies  concerning 
Christ,  and  that  He  was-  Joseph's  reputed  Son. 

Nathaniel  asked,  "  Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Naza- 
reth ?  "  and  Philip  answered,  "  Come,  and  see."  Jesus  saw 
Nathaniel  coming,  and  said:  "Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in 
Whom  is  no  guile."  He  gave  him  that  first  proof  of  His  omni- 
science ;  and  he  asked,  "  Whence  knowest  Thou  me  ?  "  And 
He  said,  "Before  Philip  called  thee,  when  thou  wast  Tmder 
the  fig  tree,  I  saw  thee."  He  perceive'l  that  Christ  knew  what 
his  thoughts  there  had  been,  and  he  confessed:  "  Rabbi,  Thou 
art  the  Son  of  God,  Thou  art  the  King  of  Israel;  "  meaning  only 
in  the  Hebrew  sense,  the  anointed  seed  of  the  woman. 


G6  LIFE    OF    CIIKIST. 

Natlianiel  was  one  of  the  few  devout  men  wlio  were  wait- 
ing and  cxpettting  Christ,  and  lie  was  cliosen  then  as  a  disciple, 
and  became  an  Apostle,  whose  name  Christ  changed  to  Bar- 
tholomew; because,  like  Simeon,  he  had  not  only  "  Avaited  for 
the  consolation  in  Israel,"  but  had  believed  in  His  Messiahshij) 
as  soon  as  he  saw  Ilim.  Thus,  by  degrees,  Jesus  began  to  call 
the  disciples  lie  knew  would  be  fittest  to  build  His  Kingdom  on. 

Christ  told  Kathaniel,  for  his  confession  of  fjiith,  that  he 
should  see  greater  things  than  he  had  seen  at  his  baptism  ; 
namely,  "  the  heavens  opening  and  the  Angels  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  on  the  Son  of  Man  ;  "  which  title  He  then  lirst 
gave  Himself,  and  which  was  verified  at  His  ascension. 

The  next  event  recorded  in  Cln-ist's  life  was,  after  He 
returned  to  Galilee,  full  of  the  Holy  GJiost:  then  the  Spirit 
led  Him  into  the  wilderness  to  he  tempted  of  the  devil  ;  it 
seems  a  strange  event,  and  a  strange  time,  when  He  was  begin- 
ning His  mission  to  destroy  Satan's  power,  and  begin  His  work 
of  man's  salvation. 

It  was  the  first  trial  of  Christ's  human  nature  ;  and  after 
He  had  fasted  forty  days,  that  the  devil  assaulted  Him.  I^ut 
it  fulfilled  the  type  of  Moses,  who  fasted  forty  days  Avhen  he 
went  to  the  mount  to  receive  the  Law,  and  to  learn  how  to 
establish  the  Tabernacle  and  Priesthood;  so  Christ  now  prepared 
Himself,  to  begin  to  teach  the  Gospel,  and  institute  the  Chris- 
tian Church  and  niinistrj'. 

Satan  first  enticed  Cln-ist's  human  will  to  act  against  the 
Father's  will;  he  knew  the  seed  of  the  woman  would  bruise 
His  head,  he  suspected  Christ  was  that  seed, — probably  from 
the  wonders  that  attended  His  baptism  ;  but  he  expected  to 
overcome  Him  as  he  did  the  first  Adam,  by  tempting  His 
appetite  ;  and  so  he  said,  "  If  Thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  com- 
mand these  stones  to  be  made  bread." 

To  have  done  so,  would   have  interrupted  the  discipline 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  67 

the  Father  imposed  on  His  luiman  nature,  and  opposed  His 
will  to  the  Father's  will;  and  Clu-ist  said  :  "It  is  written,  'thou 
shalt  not  live  by  Ijread  alone,  l)nt  l)y  every  word  that  cometli 
from  God.'"  Satan  was  batHec',  l)ut  again  tempted  Clirist  t.i 
cast  Himself  from  a  pinnacle  of  the  Temple;  quoting  the  Psalm 
that  foretold  the  ministry  of  "  Angels  to  hold  Him  np,  that 
He  should  not  dash  His  feet  against  a  stone;  "  but  He  omitted 
the  last  part  of  the  promise,  that  He  would  "  tread  the  lion  and 
dragon  under  His  feet." 

These  trials  of  Christ's  human  nature  failed  ;  and  Satan 
was  doul)tful  if  He  were  the  Christ;  to  have  done  either  act, 
would  have  revealed  His  divine  nature,  and  draw  upon  it,  to 
do  Satan's  will,  instead  of  the  Father's,  in  submitting  to  this 
trial  of  His  obedience. 

But  the  devil's  effrontry  was  not  quite  confounded  ;  and 
He  made  his  last  assault  on  Christ's  ambition,  offering  Him 
all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  their  glory,  if  He  "  would 
fall  down  and  worship  him."  That  looks  as  if  he  hoped  by 
the  blasphemous  provocation,  to  impel  Christ  to  reveal  Himself; 
but  He  said,  "  Get  thee  hence,  Satan,  for  it  is  written  :  tliuu 
shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve." 

Thus  tlie  Son  of  David  smote  His  spiritual  enemy  with 
words  from  Holy  Scripture,  and  sent  him  away  confouniL'cl 
by  one  born  of  woman,  for  the  first  time  in  his  long  career  uf 
wickedness  in  tempting  mankind.  He  had  bruised  the  race's 
heel,  and  he  now  knew  the  Ijruiser  of  his  head  had  come;  for 
he  felt  again  the  power  of  the  Son  of  God,  by  whom  he  was  cast 
out  Heaven,  and  knew  He  would  finally  cast  him  into  Hell. 
When  the  devil  left  Christ,  angels  came  and  ministered  unto 
Him. 

An  angel  announced  Jesns's  conception  ;  and  angels  attended 
His  birth,  and  now  they  ministered  to  His  human  nature,  for 
that  only  needed  support  ;  and  they  continually  attended  Him 


G3  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

t]u-i)uii:li  all  His  earthly  life  ;  were  present  at  Kis  resurrection, 
and  escorted  Him  at  His  ascenscion  to  Heaven.  And  in  Christ's 
temptation,  there  was  a  lesson  for  all  His  disciples  ;  He  was 
holy — yet  tempted  ;  we  shonld  never  have  known  why  we  are 
t3mpted,  but  for  Christ.  His  human  nature  made  perfect  by 
re^sistance,  and  our  spiritual  strength  is  increased,  Avlien  we  re- 
sist manfully  as  He  did  ;  and  that  He  triumphed  is  our  assur- 
ance that  He  is  God,  and  can  make  us  conquer  also  if  we  look 
to  Him  for  help. 

Some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Heaven,  Earth,  and  Hell,  God  and 
ano-els,  the  devil  and  men  were  present  at  Christ's  temptation  ; 
and  we  see  what  a  mystery  our  human  life  and  nature  are,  and 
what  helps  and  hopes  we  have  for  the  final  conquest  of  our 
spiritual  enemy.  Anotlier  lesson  is  :  Christ  did  not  seek  tlie 
temptation — He  was  led  by  the  Spirit  ;  and  our  duty  is  to  resist 
the  first  enticement  to  evil  ;  and  we  learn,  also,  that  doing  our 
duties  does  not  exempt  us  from  temptation, — but  when  we  are 
most  earnest,  we  may  expect  the  hardest  trials  ;  but  the  resist- 
ance increases  onr  spiritual  strength,  and  makes  us  like  Christ. 

Though  Satan  withdrew  from  Christ,  it  was  only  for  a  time  ; 
he  never  ceased  occasional  temptations — ^for  He  was  tempted  in 
all  points,  as  we  are,  yet  without' sin — until  he  wrung  from  Him 
on  the  cross  the  anguish  cry  :  "  My  God,  My  God,  why  hath 
Thou  forsaken  Me?" 

Christ  gave  His  disciples  an  example  of  fasting  and  obedience, 
by  which  Plis  human  nature  was  perfected  ;  so  must  ours  be  made 
perfect  in  His  way;  and  when  we  resist  temptations,  more  than 
angels  come  to  our  help,  even  the  Holy  Spirit,  He  sent  as  His 
last,  best  gift  to  His  Church  after  His  ascension  to  Heaven. 

There  are  no  clues  to  help  us  trace  Christ's  course  or 
doings  immediately  after  His  temptation,  only  that  He  re- 
turned in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  to  Galilee,  and  His  fame 
spread  abroad.     But  He  next  appears  puljlicly  at  Cana  of  Gali- 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  69 

îee,  where  He  wronght  His  first  mii-acle  of  changing  water 
to  wine.  He,  and  His  mother,  and  disciples  were  present  at  a 
wedding;  Joseph  is  not  mentioned,  and  so  probably  was  dead. 
Thus  He  honored  matrimony  by  His  presence,  and  turned  water 
to  wine  to  save  the  family  the  mortification  of  not  having  suffi- 
cient for  the  guests. 

WJien  His  mother  told  Him  of  the  want  of  wine,  He 
said,  "  What  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ?  Mine  hour  is  not  yet 
come,"  which  looks  as  if  slio  expected  He  was  al)out  to  plainly 
manifest  His  Messiahsliip  to  the  world.  No  irreverence  was 
implied  in  His  words,  only  she  must  understand  that, — though 
she  was  His  mother  as  the  Son  of  Man,  she  liad  notliing  to  do 
with  His  work  as  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  thus,  in  the  ])eginning 
of  His  ministry,  He  gave  the  warning  against  the  idolatry  He 
foresaw  would  be  paid  to  her  as  the  Mother  of  God's  incarnate 
Son. 

Mary  surely  saw  something  in  Christ's  manner,  that  as- 
sured her  her  wishes  would  be  regarded  ;  and  she  told  the  ser- 
vants to  do  whatever  He  commanded.  And  they  filled  six  jars 
with  water,  and  drew  wine  from  them,  and  bore  it  to  tlie 
Governor  of  the  feast  ;  and  He  called  tlie  bride-groom,  and 
asked  why  he  had  kept  the  good  wine  until  the  last  ? 

The  Mother's  petition  was  the  cause  of  Christ's  first 
miracle,  and  it  was  a  change  of  a  law  of  nature  by  His  Mdll 
for  no  word  was  spoken  ;  and  it  anticipated  tlie  unbelief  of 
future  ages,  when  man  would  deny  God's  power  to  arrest,  or 
control  His  own  laws  ;  and  it  was  no  more  a  miracle  to  chano-e 
water  to  wine,  than  it  was  to  make  grapes  to  produce  wine.  It 
was  a  manifestation  of  His  power  over  nature's  laws,  and 
"  His  disciples  believed  on  Him." 

There  was  also  a  spiritual  lesson  in  tlie  miracle;  it  was  a 
symbol  of  the  work  He  had  come  to  do,  by  changing  the  water 
of  the  old  covenant  and  kingdom  into   the  sacraments  of  His 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 


kingdom  of  God  ;  and  tlie  water  of  John's  baptism,  into  water 
consecrated  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  regenerate  and  sanc-tify 
men;  to  raise  them  ont  of  the  moral  darkness  in  which  the 
world  grovelled,  into  the  light  and  glory  of  the  Gospel.  If 
Christ  had  created  wine  in  empty  jars,  it  would  have  signified 
the  regeneration  of  the  Law  ;  but  putting  in  water,  and  chang- 
iïia-  that,  signified  the  development  of  the  Gospel  out  of  the 
Law. 

Moses'  first  miracle  turned  water  to  blood,  but  Christ's 
chanîjed  water  to  wine  ;  the  Law  was  a  ministry  of  death  ;  the 
Gospel  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light.  And  it  was  a  sym- 
l)ol  of  what  Ilis  Church  would  forever  do;  while  His  presence 
at  a  marriage  feast,  where  was  dancing  and  wine,  showed  that 
He  had  come  to  hallow  times  of  joy  and  gladness,  as  well  as 
of  suffering  and  sorrow,  and  at  last  give  men  the  wine  of  eternal 
life  and  glory  in  His  kingdom  inlieaven. 

Henceforth  water  was  to  be  forever  a  symbol  of  regeneration 
and  washing  from  sin,  and  wine  tlie  means  of  strengthening 
aîid  refreshing  .the  souls  of  believers  ;  and  the  out-ward  and 
visible  signs  of  the  sacraments  He  would  institute,  to  take  the 
place  of  the  covenant  and  sacrifices  of  the  mother  Church. 

From  Cana,  Clu'ist  went  with  His  motlier  and  disciples  to 
Capernaum,  and  He  taught  and  wrought  miracles  ;  but  they  ro- 
mained  there  not  many  days.  John  began  his  cry  in  the 
wilderness,  but  Christ  chose  the  greater  publicity  of  teaching  in 
the  cities  and  villages  of  Galilee,  where  He  must  have  been  well 
known.  Josephus  says  that  Province  was  very  populous,  and 
peopled  with  many  nationalities  ;  bold  and  shrewd  adventurers, 
the  last  people  an  impostor  would  seek,  but  which  would  soonest 
make  His  fame  widely  known. 

In  fulfilling  the  Law,  Christ  showed  its  spirituality, — which 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  had  buried  under  their  ceremonial, — 
restored  the  almost  lost  knowledge  of  true  righteousness,  and 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  71 

made  new  revelations  of  man's  future  life  and  destiny.  lie  did 
not  come  to  revolutionize,  but  to  regenerate  society  ;  and  He 
knew  that  before  His  kingdom  would  be  established,  to  elevate 
mankind  socially  and  morally.  He  must  suffer  persecution  until 
He  found  rest  in  death  on  the  cross.  He  knew  He  was  King 
of  the  Jews,  and  of  a  kingdom  not  of  this  world  ;  but  He  would 
liave  no  earthly  glory,  and  came  to  do  the  Fathe]"'s  will,  and  not 
His  own,  that  is,^ — human  will. 

The  Evangelists  agree  that  soon  after  this,  Jesus  went  to 
Nazareth,  where  He  grew  up,  and  in  the  Synagogue  declared 
His  Messiahship  by  reading  the  prophecy  of  Isaiali  concerning 
Himself  saying,  "  tliis  day  is  tliis  propliecy  fulfilled  in  your  ears  ;" 
and  the  eyes  of  all  the  people  wei-e  turned  on  Him,  and  tliey 
wondered  at  His  gracious  words.  And  they  said,  "  Is  not  this 
Joseph's  son  ?  "  They  had  known  Him  only  as  a  carpenter, 
and  now  He  claimed  to  be  the  Christ.  That  was  not  the  way 
an  imposter  would  have  been  likely  to  have  done,  where  He 
was  best  known. 

That  question  was  the  very  first  murmur  of  the  doubt  of 
Christ's  Messiahship,  and  it  was  destined  to  begin  a  persecution 
that  would  incu-ease  until  it  ended  in  the  cry  at  Jerusalem  "  to 
crucify  Him."  He  knew  the  doubt;  and  that  they  wondered  why 
He  had  done  no  nnracle  there,  as  they  heard  He  had  done  else- 
Mdiere  ;  and  He  said,  "  No  prophet  is  accepted  in  his  own  coun- 
try," and  He  showed  them  the  miracle,  that  He  knew  their 
thoughts  ;  and  quoted  Scripture  to  prove  His  words  true  :  that 
in  the  famine  in  Israel  there  were  many  widows,  but  to  none 
was  Elisha  sent,  but  to  a  gentile  at  Sarepta  ;  and  there  were 
many  lepers  in  Israel,  but  to  none  of  them  was  he  sent  but  to 
Naaman,  the  Syrian  ;  thus  telling  tliem  He  was  exorcising  His 
ministry  as  tlie  Pi-opliet  did  according  to  God's  will.  He  had 
shown  by  His  works  elsewliere,  that  He  is  the  Christ  ;  but  He 
had  told  them,  by  His  words. 


72  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

The  people  were  filled  with  wrath  at  Ilis  sayings,  and  led 
Him  to  the  brow  of  the  city  to  cast  Ilini  down  headlong  ;  and  the 
geology  of  the  city  now  testifies  to  the  truth  and  genuineness  of 
the  narrative, — for  on  its  south-west  side  is  a  perpendicular  preci- 
pice fifty  feet  high,  where  the  mob  intended  to  cast  Him  down  ; 
He  had  shown  them  in  the  Synagogue,  that  He  knew  their 
thoughts,  and  now  He  showed  them  the  miracle  of  escaping 
from  their  violence.  Passing  through  tlieir  midst  He  departed, 
they  knew  not  where,  nor  liow^  ;  and  thus  He  did  begin  His 
ministry  at  Nazareth,  as  He  had  done  at  Cana  and  Capernaum, 
by  miracles. 

The  want  of  faith  in  Christ,  as  the  Son  of  God,  in  the  Son 
of  Man,  "  God  with  us,"  caused  His  rejection  in  the  beginning 
of  His  ministry,  and  His  death  at  its  end  ;  and  has  caused  His 
rejection  ever  since  by  many  to  our  day,  after  all  the  new 
proofs  of  His  divinity  that  have  been  accumulating  for  nineteen 
centmies. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


CHRIST'S  FIRST  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY. 


The  persecution  of  Clirist  at  I^azaretli,  led  to  His  departure 
to  other  places  and  to  new  proofs  of  His  Messiahship  ;  soon  after 
He  taught  in  the  synagogue,  at  Capernaum,  and  wrought  a 
notable  miracle.  It  was  then  a  populous  town,  in  the  centre  of 
Palestine,  the  resort  of  foreigners  from  the  East  and  West  ;  and 
where  caravans  from  the  East,  and  commerce  brought  by  ships 
of  the  Mediterranean,  passed  through  on  the  way  to  Damascus, 
and  its  market  abounded  with  adventurers  ;  so  Christ's  acts  there 
would  be  conveyed  to  many  Gentile  nations,  as  well  as  severely 
scrutinized. 

There,  Christ  cast  an  unclean  spirit  out  of  a  man  ;  and  the 
act  was  notorious  by  the  devil's  calling  Him  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and 
asking  :  "  Art  thou  come  to  destroy  us  ?  I  know  Thee  who  Thou 
art,  the  Holy  One  of  God  !  "  Before  Christ  spake  a  word,  or  the 
people  knew  His  intention  to  cast  the  devil  out,  he  was  alarmed 
at  His  presence,  and  acknowledged  His  power  to  destro}^  them  ; 
which  shows  Satan  had  learned,  at  the  temptation,  that  He  was 
the  seed  of  the  woman. 

His  townsmen  had  rejected  Him,  but  a  devil  had  confessed 
Him  to  be  the  Holy  One  of  God  ;  this  was  Christ's  first  exercise 
of  His  power  over  a  devil,  for  the  benefit  of  another  ;  but  He 


74  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

rebuked  the  spirit — told  liirn  to  hold  his  peace,  and  come  out  of 
the  man  ;  and  throwing  him  down  before  the  people,  "  he  came 
out,  and  hurt  him  not."  While  tiie  devil  testified  to  Christ's 
Divinity,  He  proved  it  l)y  His  power  over  the  invisible  kingdom 
of  darkness,  and  fulfilled  Isaiah's  prophecy — "  setting  the  cap- 
tives free  ;"  and  also  the  prophecy  of  2achariah — that  when 
Christ  came,  "  unclean  spirits  would  pass  out  of  the  land  ;"  not 
that  they  would  no  longer  tempt,  but  could  not  injure  the  bodies 
of  men. 

Tliatwas  a  thrilling  scene;  and  tlie  people  were  amazed,  and 
said  aniong  themselves  :  "  What  Word  is  this  !  for  with  author- 
ity and  power  He  commands  tlie  unclean  spirits,  and  tliey  obey 
Him."  They  saw  and  (îonfessed  that  the  a(;t  was  supernatural  ; 
and  "  the  fame  werit  out  into  every  place  of  the  country  round 
about." 

From  Capernaum  Christ  went  to  Simon's  house  at  Bothsaida, 
and  healed  his  Avife's  mother  of  a  fever  suddenly,  so  that  she 
rose  and  ministered  to  them.  And  these  miracles  spread  His 
fame  so,  that  "  Avlien  the  sun  was  setting,  many  sick  with  diverse 
diseases,  and  possessed  of  devils,  came  to  Him,  and  He  healed 
them." 

This  incidental  mention  of  sun-down,  proves  the  reality  of 
th^  scene,  and  the  truth  of  the  nan-ative  :  because,  in  a  warm 
climate,  the  sick  could  not  endure  exposure  to  the  sun.  The 
casting  out  of  demoniacs,  was  a  different  miracle  from  healing 
diseases  ;  and  revealed  clearly  the  mystery  of  man's  subjec-tion  to 
their  power,  and  was  one  of  the  evils  Christ  came  to  remedy. 

No  wonder  then,  that  people  flocked  to  Him,  and  l)elieved 
Him  the  Clirist;  and  that  the  devils  confessed  Him,  as  their  de- 
stroyer. Again  the  scene  changes,  and  a  glimpse  is  given  of  His 
private  life:  ''In  the  morning,  rising  up  a  great  while  before 
day.  He  went  into  a  solitar}-  place,  and  there  prayed;"  and  that 
was  no  act  of  an  impostor,  or  presumptuous,  or  vain  glorious  man. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  15 

He  was  about  to  extend  His  journey,  and  enlarge  His  work, 
and  He  sought  help  and  direction  from  God;  but  liere  occurs  one 
of  those  gaps,  that  neitlier  Gospel  helps  us  to  bridge  over.  Si- 
mon and  other  disciples  sought  for  Christ,  and  wlien  they  found 
Him,  said,  "  All  men  seek  for  Thee."  And  He  said  unto  them 
"  Let  us  go  into  the  next  towns,  that  I  may  preach  tliere  also. 
And  He  preached  in  their  synagogues  throughout-  all  Galilee, 
and  cast  out  devils." 

In  what  direction  Christ  and  the  disciples  first  went  no  ac- 
count is  given;  but  apparently  it  was  to  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes 
north  of  Capei-naum,  when  He  preached  that  sermon  which  set 
forth  the  great  principles  of  the  Gospel,  and  was  His  primal  act 
in  transforming  the  Law  to  the  Gospel,  and  the  old  Kingdom  of 
God  to  His  new  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

Moses  went  into  the  Mount  to  receive  the  Law,  from  the 
same  Lord  who  now  pro(daimed  the  Gospel  ;  the  Law  was  given 
amid  thunderings  and  lightenings,  and  "  made  notliing  perfect," 
and  its  despisers  died  without  mercy  ;  but  tlie  G<.)spel  began  with 
benedictions,  revealed  the  spirituality  of  the  Law,  and  a  better 
rightcijusness  through  Clu'ist,  and  a  linal  salvation. 

The  multitude  followed  Clu-ist,  expecting  He  was  come  to 
establish  a  temporal  kingdom,  or  seeking  some  personal  benefit  y 
but  His  first  words  were  the  key  note  to  His  Gospel,  and  the  first 
step  of  departure  from  Judaism,  as  it  was,  to  Cln-istianity. 
"  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,"  the  humble,  and  lowly  in  heart 
for  they  feel  the  need  of  a  Saviour,  and  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven. 

He  knew  that  the  Jews  expected  earthly  riches  and  glory, 
but  He  said  His  Kingdom  would  give  only  spiritual  l^lessiugs  ; 
and  swept  away  tiieir  hopes  of  a  temporal  kingdom,  and  showed 
Himself  no  agrarian,  or  revolutionist  like  Judas,  who  had  caused 
political  disturbance  in  Galilee; 

The  second  beatitude  was  for  mourners;  not  those  weeping 


76  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

the  loss  of  friends  or  property,  but  the  contrite,  and  broken 
hearted,  they  shall  lind  comfort  in  His  Kingdom,  a  heavenly 
consolation  in  doing  its  duties  : 

The  third  beatitude  was  for  the  meek,  they  shall  inherit  the 
earth  ;  this  was  a  blow  to  Jewisli  pride,  which  looked  for  political 
power  in  Messiah's  kingdom,  and  expected  tlio  whole  world  as 
their  inheritance: 

The  fourth  beatitude  was  for  "those  M'ho  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness,"  and  not  earthly  power  and  di-itinction — they 
shall  be  tilled  ;  because  His  Kingdom  will  give  righteousness 
and  peace  to  iill  and  quench  such  hunger  and  thirst  : 

The  fifth  beatitude  was  for  the  merciful,  which  rebuked  the 
hard  hearted  rulers,  who  laid  heavy  burdens,  and  had  a  spirit  of 
revenge  towards  their  enemies  ;  and  whom  Cln-ist  knew  would 
show  no  mercy  to  Him  ;  only  such  would  obtain  admission  to 
His  Kingdom,  and  receive  mercy  from  God. 

The  sixth  beatitude  was  for  the  pure  in  heart.  The  Jews 
were  careful  observers  of  their  ritual,  while  their  liearts  were  un- 
clean and  far  from  God  ;  and  so  they  nmst  repent,  or  they  could 
not  inherit  His  Kingdom,  or  even  see  God. 

The  seventh  beatitude  was  for  peace  makers;  Christ  knew 
how  the  Jews  had  been  rebels  and  revolters  against  God,  and  the 
Roman  rule,  and  how  they  would  persecute  and  kill  Him  ;  and 
they  expected  the  Messiah  would  deli^'er  them  by  violence  from 
the  Homans,  but  He  taught  them  He  had  come  lO  bring  peace, 
by  peaceable  means. 

The  eighth  benediction  foretold  how  His  Kingdom  would 
be  received,  and  what  His  disciples  nmst  expect  for  righteous- 
ness sake,  but  their  reward  will  be  great  in  Heaven  ;  and  thus, 
for  the  first  time,  that  future  eternal  reward  was  revealed  to  His 
disciples,  as  a  motive  to  bear  His  cross,  suffer  persecution  for  His 
sake,  all  of  which  was  very  different  from  the  proclamatioii  they 
looked  for  from  the  Messiah. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  77 

Clirist  continued,  that  His  disciples  would  l)e  the  salt  of  tlie 
eavtli,  and  salt  is  a  syml)ol  of  purity;  but  if  tliey  were  unfaithful, 
would  be  despised  by  men.  They  must  let  their  light  shine,  to 
be  seen  of  men,  and  so  glorify  God  ;  and,  for  the  lirst  time,  He 
called  Him  their  father  in  Heaven. 

And  He  enforced  His  doctrines,  as  no  other  prophet  ever 
did,  by  His  authoritive  '■'■  I  say  unto  yow.  I  have  not  come  to 
destroy  the  Law,  but  to  fulfill  it  ;  "  and  unless  His  disciples' 
righteousness  exceeded  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  they  could  not 
enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  ;  proving  Himself  Messiah,  by 
proclaiming  mysteries  of  God,  and  foretelling  who  will  be  admit- 
ted or  excluded  from  His  kingdom. 

And  He  revealed  the  spirit  of  the  Law,  forlndding  anger, 
which  leads  to  murder  ;  lustful  looks  are  adultery  of  the  heart  ; 
and  urged  a  new  motive,  not  in  the  Law, — the  danger  of  eternal 
punishment  in  Hell;  saying  it  were  better  to  pluck  out  an  eye,  or 
cut  off  a  hand  than  to  be  cast  into  Hell  :  there  must  be  no  di- 
vorce but  for  adultery,  and  no  marriage  again  for  the  guilty. 

Oaths,  resistance  of  evil,  hatred  of  enemies  and  praying  to 
be  seen  of  men,  are  condemned  ;  and  alms-giving  are  urged  as  a 
means  to  make  men  like  the  Heavenly  Father,  who  is  good  to  the 
evil  and  unthankful.  In  these  ways  Christ  repealed  the  Law,  as  in- 
terpreted l>y  the  Scribes,  "It  is  said;"  and  rebuked  the  hypocrisy 
of  the  Pharisees,  by  His  Divine  authority,  "  I  say  unto  you." 

Christ  also  made  a  departure  from  the  Hebi-ew  Kitual,  and 
the  beginning  of  a  Christian  Liturgy  in  His  prayer  ;  the  address 
"  Our  Father,"  and  the  doxology,  were  from  old  forms,  and  the 
first  petition  accorded  with  the  first  command  of  the  Law  ;  but 
that  for  the  condng  of  the  kingdom,  was  His  kingdom,  and  to 
be  continued  for  its  prosperity  until  His  second  coming.  The 
petition  for  God's  will  to  be  done,  and  for  daily  bread,  and  for- 
giveness, and  deli^'erance  from  temptation,  were  in  exact  accord 
with  the  principles  of  His  Gospel,  and  revealed  the  spiritual 


78  LIFEUFCHRIST. 

nature  of  the  old  Ritual  ;  while  the  principles  of  forgiveness 
had  no  parallel  in  any  IIol)row  prayer.  And  it  was  not  nntil 
near  the  end  of  His  mission,  that  He  told  the  Apostles  to  ask 
and  conclude  prayers  to  the  Father  in  His  name  ;  and  no  prayer 
so  comprehensive  as  His,  and  adapted  to  all  from  childhood  to 
old  age,  has  since  been  compiled. 

Each  duty  taught  was  a  departure  from  the  popular 
religion,  and  alms,  and  self-sacrifices  were  substituted  foi  the 
old  animal  sacrifices  ;  and  purity  of  heart  for  the  washing  and 
anointings  of  the  Law;  and  treasures  were  to  be  laid  up  in 
Heaven — because  where  they  are,  there  the  heart  will  be  ;  and 
Christ's  words  respecting  the  singleness  of  the  eye,  evinced  a 
knowledge  of  physiology,  which  modern  science  alone  has 
explained. 

The  command  '*'not  to  be  anxious  abont  temporal  things,  to 
trnst  in  God,  and  to  seek  first  His  kingdom,  and  He  will  care  for 
ns,"  were  new  doctrines,  and  His  disciples  have  ever  since  found 
them  true  ;  the  Law  promised  earthly  blessings,  and  righteous- 
ness, for  obedience  ;  but  the  Gospel  promises  tribulation,  Christ's 
righteousness,  and  eternal  life,  for  entrance  into  and  faithfulness 
in  the  coming  kingdom  of  God  :  and  this  was  His  first  mention 
of  His  kingdom,  in  this  new  aspect. 

All  rash  judgments  and  deeds  are  warned  against — l)ccause 
of  the  mysterious  law  of  retribution,  as  well  as  false  oaths  and 
profanity;  and  all  prayers  will  be  answered — not  always  as  we 
ask,  but  as  God  knows  is  best  for  us  ;  and  all  must  do  as  they 
would  be  done  by, — and  this,  Christ  said,  "  is  the  law  and  the 
prophets." 

And  then,  as  the  instruction  draws  to  an  end,  He  warns  the 
people  that  the  gate  to  the  kingdom  is  straight,  and  the  way  to 
walk  in  it  nari-ow,  and  few  will  find  it  ;  and  they  nmst  l)cware 
of  f;dse  prophets,  for  every  tree  that  does  not  produce  good 
fruit  will  l)e  cut  down  and  cast  into  the  fire;  and  calling  Him 


LIFE    OF    CHU  IS  T.  79 

Lord,  Lord,  will  not  save  tliern  from  condemnation  in  the  jndg-- 
inent,  unless  they  depart  from  evil. 

Tims  the  new  Dispensation  dawned  with  its  doctrine  of 
future  reward's  and  punishments  for  the  deeds  done  here  ;  and 
that  there  is  no  salvation  for  any  who  build  their  hopes  on  any 
other  ground  than  faith  in  Him  as  the  Christ,  and  obedience  to 
His  Gospel  and  kingdom. 

Jesus  called  this  discourse,  "sayings  of  Mine;"  He  deliv- 
ered it  by  His  authority  as  God,  "I  say  unto  you;"  He 
announced  Himself  the  future  Judge  of  mankind,  with  power 
over  heaven  and  hell  ;  and  laid  down  the  duties  men  owe  to 
God  and  their  fellow-men,  in  every  relation  of  life,  as  king  or 
subject,  master  or  servant,  parent  or  (;hild,  Iniyer  or  seller, 
husband  or  wife,  rich  or  poor,  clergy  or  laity,  with  a  wisdom 
God  alone  possesses;  and  now,  after  all  the  changes  society  has 
since  passed  through.  His  doctrines  are  infallilJe,  and  no  one 
ever  tried  to  conform  to  them  without  being  convinced  that  they 
are  of  God. 

Is  it  any  wonder,  then,  that  the  people  who  heard  the  ser- 
mon, were  astonished  at  His  doctrines,  so  exalted  in  principle, 
and  so  vastly  in  advance  of  the  practice  of  His  age  ?  It  is  im- 
possible that  any  man,  who  was  not  holy  himself,  could  have 
taught  such  doctrines,  and  given  such  a  prayer,  and  with  such  con- 
summate wisdom  prepared  the  way  to  transfer  Jewish  ideas  and 
service  to  Christian  doctrines  and  worship. 

And  Christ's  interpretation  of  the  Law,  viewed  only  in  its 
relations  to  this  life,  as  a  sytem  of  etliics  based  on  reason,  and 
wise  earthly  policy,  and  to  secure  happiness,  far  surpass  any 
tiling  ever  propounded  by  prophets,  philosophers,  or  legislators. 
Certainly  nothing  can  be  imagined  better  adapted  to  exalt 
mankind;  no  question  of  right  or  wrong  that  is  too  high  or  low 
to  be  adjusted  by  it;  audit  presented  new  motives  for  men  to 
believe  in,  and  obey  Him  as  the  Christ  ;  gave  an  impulse  to  a 


80 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST, 


liiglier  civilization,  art,  and  science;  and  when  it  is  considered 
tliat  it  was  delivered  by  a  young  man,  who  had  grown  up,  and 
labored  as  a  carpenter  at  Nazareth,  tliere  is  no  other  way  to  ex- 
plain it,  but  that  He  was  "  very  God  of  very  God,"  incarnate  in 
our  human  nature  ;  for  the  doctrines  were  incarnate  and  exem- 
plilied  in  His  life. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


CHRIST'S  JOURNEY  CONTINUED. 


"  "When  He  was  come  down  from  the  mountain,  great  multi- 
tudes followed  Him  "  to  the  Lake  Gennesaret,  and  so  pressed 
upon  Him  to  hear  His  words,  that  He  went  aboard  a  boat,  and 
taught  the  people  as  they  stood  on  the  shore. 

When  His  discourse  ended,  He  told  Peter  to  launch  into  the 
deep  and  let  down  his  nets  for  fish  ;  but  he  said  they  had  toiled 
all  night  and  taken  nothing;  but  at  His  command  he  obeyed 
and  enclosed  a  multitude  of  fishes,  so  that  the  net  broke  ;  and 
they  called  their  partners,  Andrew  and  John,  in  another  boat, 
and  they  came  and  rilled  both  boats.  And  when  Peter  saw  it, 
he  fell  down  at  Jesus'  knees,  saying,  "  Depart  from  me,  for  I 
am  a  sinful  man,  O  Lord."  And  Jesus  said  to  him,  "  Fear 
not  ;  for  from  henceforth  thou  shalt  catch  men."  And  wlien 
they  brought  their  boats  to  land,  they  forsook  all  and  followed 

Him. 

Some  weeks  before  this,  these  men  had  met  our  Lord  and 
professed  their  faith  in  Him,  but  returned  to  their  employment 
until  this  time;  as  they  appear  afterwards,  several  times  occasion- 
ally, to  have  done.  With  His  followers,  Jesus  now  returned  to 
Capernaum  ;  and  as  He  was  entering  the  city,  there  came  a  lep- 
er and  worshipped  Him,  saying  :    "  Lord,  if   Thou   wilt,  Thou 


82  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

cans't  make  me  clean/'  And  He  put  forth  His  hands  and  touched 
liim,  saying  :  "I  WHX  :  be  thou  clean;"  and  immediately  his 
lepi'osy  was  cleansed.  He  had  been  teaching  in  virtue  of  His 
own  Divine  power  ;  but  now,  in  virtne  of  His  own  Divine  will, 
He  told  the  man  and  the  people,  that  He  healed  him  of  his 
loathsome  disease  ;  which  the  Jews  held  incurable  but  by  God  ; 
and  by  the  law,  whoever  touched  a  leaper  was  unclean.  It  Avas  a 
type  of  sill  ;  and  by  touching  him,  Chiist  showed  that  neither 
could  defile  Him  ;  and  He  gave  His  words  and  deeds  as  proof  of 
His  Messiahship. 

But  He  commanded  the  leper  to  tell  no  man,  but  go  and 
show  himself  to  the  priests — and  offer  the  gift  for  his  restoration, 
which  Moses  commanded.  This  showed  that  He  had  not  come 
to  destroy  the  law  ;  and  it  was  also  to  make  known  to  the 
priests,  that  Christ  had  come,  who  could  heal  sickness,  and  do 
what  only  God  had  power  to  do. 

Scarcel}'  had  the  leper  departed,  when  a  Centurion  came  to 
Christ,  and  besought  Him  to  heal  his  servant,  sick  of  the  palsy  ; 
and  the  elders  of  the  Jews  approved  his  petition,  saying,  "  He 
iovetli  our  nation,  and  hath  built  us  a  synagogue,"  which  looks 
as  if  he  were  a  proselyte. 

But  the  centurion  said  :  "  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  Thou 
shouldest  come  under  my  roof  ;  but  speak  the  word  only,  and 
my  servant  shall  be  healed."  And  Christ  said  He  had  not  found 
so  great  faith  in  Israel,  and  told  him  to  go  his  way  ;  "  and  as 
thou  hast  believed,  so  be  it  done  unto  thee  ;  "  which  was  the  first 
recorded  expression  of  the  infinite  part  faith  was  to  exercise  in 
His  Xingduui. 

And  that  Homan  soldier  was  the  first  disciple  Christ  re- 
ceived from  the  Gentile  world  ;  but  he  appears  not  to  have  for- 
saken liis  profession,  nor  to  have  followed  Christ — His  personal 
missicm  being  exclusively  to  God's  covenant  people.  The  cen- 
turion's faith  coujpared  Christ's  dominion  over  the  unseen  world. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  83 

to  his  absolute  military  Hiitliority  over  his  soldiers  ;  and  for  that, 
his  petition  was  (granted. 

Several  months  luid  now  elapsed  since  Christ  began  His  min- 
istry, and  He  seems  to  have  returned  to  Capernaum  for  a  short 
time,  and  left  because  the  Jews'  Passover  was  at  hand;  and  be- 
cause His  fame  had  so  increased  :  multitudes  were  flocking  to 
Him  ;  and  He  went  down  to  the  lake  of  Gennesaret,  and  taught 
the  people  there.  And  a  scribe  came,  and  desired  to  become 
His  disciple;  but  He  said  to  him:  "The  foxes  hav^e  holes,  and 
the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests;  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not 
where  to  lay  His  head." 

That  was  the  second  time  Christ  applied  the  title,  "  Son  of 
Man,"  to  Himself,  which  the  Psalmist  liad  given  the  Messiah  a 
tliousancl  years  before,  and  which  He  often  used  in  reference  to 
His  human  nature  ;  and  thus  He  told  the  scribe,  that  He  was  the 
Christ.  But  he,  evidently,  was  thinking  of  Him  as  a  king,  and 
expected  some  great  honor  as  His  disciple;  but  the  poverty — 
not  where  to  lay  His  head — sliook  his  faith,  and  he  turned  away. 

At  the  same  time  came  another  man,  wlio  ]iad  professed 
himself  a  disciple,  and  said  unto  Him,  "  Lord  suffer  me  first  to 
go  and  bury  my  father  ?"  But  He  said  to  him  :  "  Follow  Me, 
and  let  the  dead  bury  their  dead."  This  was  apparently  an  excuse 
for  not  accompanying  Him  ;  he,  too,  had  probably  ]ieard  the 
words  of  the  scribe,  and  began  to  doubt  the  expediency  of  fol- 
lowing Him  an}^  more.  And  Christ  appears  always  to  have  tried 
the  faith  of  all  who  offered  to  become  His  disciples,  before  He 
accepted  them. 

"And  when  He  entered  the  boat.  His  disciples  followed  Him. 
And,  beliold,  there  arose  a  great  tempest  in  the  sea,  insomuch 
that  tlie  boat  was  covered  with  the  waves  ;  but  He  was  asleep. 
And  His  disciples  awoke  Him,  sajdng  :  Lord,  save  us  ;  we  per- 
ish." 

The  disciples  who  followed  Him,  believed  Him  to  be  the 


84  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Christ,  and  that  He  could  control  the  hiws  of  the  ncatural  world, 
because  they  liad  seen  Him  turn  water  into  wine, 

"And  He  saith  unto  them,  Wliy  are  ye  fearful,  O  ye  of  little 
faith  {  Then,  He  arose,  and  rebuked  the  winds  and  the  sea  ; 
and  there  was  a  great  calm.  But  the  men  marvelled,  saying, 
"NMiat  manner  of  man  is  this,  that  even  the  winds  and  the  sea 
obey  Him  ?" 

This  was  the  exercise  of  His  power  over  two  natural  laws — 
the  winds  and  the  water;  ai)d  He  instantly  interrupted  their  mo- 
tions. And  how  perfectly  natural,  as  the  description  of  a  real 
scene,  by  one  who  had  witnessed  it  ;  and  how  natural  the  in- 
quiry, from  men  who  believed  Christ  was  tlie  Messianic  Son  of 
Man,  but  did  not  know  or  believe  Him  to  be  the  incarnate  Son 
of  God  ? 

These  miracles  were  not  contrar}^  to  the  laws  of  nature,  but 
was  an  exercise  of  Divine  power  in  controlling  them.  God  was  the 
tirst  cause  of  them,  and  certainly  He  could  govern  them  ;  Christ 
wrotight  the  miracle  to  show  His  disciples  that  He  could  control 
botli  winds  and  waves,  and  therefore  was  their  Creator  ;  and  He 
did  it,  not  to  inspire  their  reverence  or  wonder,  but  to  save  them 
from  drowning  and  allay  their  fears  ;  though  it  was,  also,  inci- 
dental testimony  to  His  Divine  nature. 

And  when  He  was  come  to  the  other  side,  into  the  country 
of  the  Gergesenes,  there  met  Him  two  possessed  of  devils,  com- 
ing out  of  the  tombs,  exceedingly  fierce,  so  that  no  man  might 
pass  by  that  way.  And,  behold,  they  cried  out  saying,  "AY hat 
have  we  to  do  with  Thee,  Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  God  ?  " 

"What  perfect  consistency  and  reasonableness  in  this  nar- 
rative ;  a  few  weeks  at  most  before,  the  devils  knew  Jesus,  and 
confessed  that  He  was  the  Holy  One  of  God  ;  and  now  they  ex- 
.  press  the  same  dread  of  Hira,  and  call  Him  "  Jesus," — the  name 
God  gave  His  hinnan  nature,  and  say,  "  Thou  Son  of  God  ;  " 
and  they  use  the  same  cry,  showing  knowledge  of  their  impend- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  85 

ing  doom.  "  Art  thou  eome  Inthcr  to  torment  ns  before  tlic 
time  ;  "  tliey  knew  that  God  had  appointed  the  time,  when 
Christ  would  judge  and  condemn  them  to  the  torment  of  liell  ; 
and  thus  the  devils  testify  to  the  truth  of  one  of  the  great 
doctrines  of  a  future  judgment,  and  eternal  punishment  in  hell, 
which  Christ  came  to  reveal.  They  saw  in  anticipation,  the  day 
when  the  devils  who  destroyed  mankind  would  be  "  cast  into  the 
lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,"  wdiere  "  the  smoke  of  their  torment 
will  ascend  forever  and  ever." 

The  devils  acknowdedged  Christ's  power  over  them,  and 
asked  permission  to  enter  a  herd  of  swine  ;  Christ  gave  it,  and 
the  swine  rushed  down  a  precipice  and  perished  in  the  lake. 
This  is  the  only  miracle  of  our  Lord,  whereby  an  injury  was 
done  to  a  living  creature  ;  every  other  one  was  an  act  of  benevo- 
lence, but  this  exercise  of  His  power  proved  His  words — that  He 
would  judge  and  condemn  both  devils  and  wicked  men;  for  the 
law  forbid  Jews  to  keep  swine  to  eat,  or  sell  ;  they  had  violated 
the  hiw,  if  they  were  owned  by  Jews  ;  and  so  He  acted  as  their 
judge,  in  punishing  them  with  the  loss  of  their  property. 

"  And  they  who  kept  them  tied,  and  went  their  ways  into 
the  city,  and  told  every  thing,  and  what  was  befallen  to  the  pos- 
sessed of  the  devils.  And  behold,  the  whole  city  came  out  to 
meet  Jesus  ;  and  when  they  saw  Him,  they  besought  Him  to 
depart  out  of  their  coasts." 

Thus  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  of  Gadera,  had  memorable  wit- 
ness that  He  who  had  come  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  had  been 
among  them  ;  and  so  fulfilled  another  prophecy,  that,  when  "  the 
people  should  see  Him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  de- 
sire Him." 

The  winds  and  waves  had  just  obeyed  Christ's  voice,  the 
devils  had  submitted  to  Him  ;  but  the  unbelief  and  will  of  wicked 
men,  He  would  not  violently  turn  away.  The  time  of  the  Pass- 
over was  now  at  hand,  and  He  went  on  His  way  to  Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


THE   FIRST   PASSOVER 


Four  Passovers  are  mentioned  in  the  Gospel,  that  Christ 
attended  after  He  began  His  ministry;  in  His  boyhood,  He 
tirst  declared  in  the  Temple,  that  He  must  be  al)ont  His  Father's 
Inisiness  ;  and  on  this  first  visit,  He  proclaimed  it  My  Father's 
House;  and  on  the  fourth  Passover  He  was  crucified. 

He  had  gone  through  Galilee,  preatthing  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  working  miracles  ;  His  fame  had  spread  every  where 
in  Palestine,  many  disciples  believed  in,  and  followed  Him  ;  and 
He  went  to  Jerusalem,  to  the  rulers  of  the  Jews,  and  proclaimed 
Himself  Lord  of  the  Temple  ;  and  finding  men  tliere  selling 
oxen,  sheep,  and  doves,  and  exchangers  of  money  ;  Pie  made  a 
scourge  of  snail  cords,  drove  them  all  out,  and  overthrew  the 
tables,  and  said  to  the  men,  "  make  not  My  Father's  House  an 
house  of  merchandise." 

The  animals  were  for  sacrifice,  and  the  doves  for  offerings 
for  the  poor  ;  and  the  money  changers  were  brokers  for  the  ex- 
change of  foreign  coin — Ijecause  current  Jewish  money  could 
only  be  used  as  tribute  for  the  Temple  service,  and  to  purchase 
animals  for  sacrifice. 

These  persons  were  in  the  outer  court  of  the  Gentiles,  the 
least  sacred  part  of  tlie  Temple  ;  but  the  exercise  of  His  authoiity 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  87 

was  ail  extraordinary  scene  ;  not  tlint  there  was  any  use  of  the 
scourge,  or  violence,  but  it  was  Christ's  Divine  majesty,  that 
awed  siKîh  persons  as  would  be  likely  to  be  employed  in  defiling 
God's  House  ;  and  it  foreshadowed  another  cleansing  He  had 
come  to  make,  in  abolishing  animal  sacrifice,  and  the  Temple 
cremonial,  and  instituting  a  new  worship  in  sjjirit  and  in  truth. 

And  the  disciples  saw  in  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy, 
"  The  zeal  of  Thine  House  hath  eaten  me  up."  Christ  patiently 
submitted  to  the  unbelief  and  persecution  of  the  Jews,  but  His 
indignation  was  aroused  by  the  defilement  of  the  Temple.  And 
a  greater  miracle  can  hardly  be  imagined,  than  the  submission  of 
such  men  to  this  stranger,  apparently  a  peasant;  but  the  act 
helps  to  confirm  the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  the  narrative, 
as  M'ell  as  show  Christ  as  Lord  of  the  Temple. 

Nor  did  the  scene  pass  unnoticed  ;  it  attracted  the  attention 
of  tlie  rulers  of  the  Jews,  as  Christ  intended  it  should;  and  they 
demanded  of  Him,  "  What  sign  showest  Thou  unto  us,  seeing 
Thou  doest  these  things  ?  "  These  rulers  knew  Christ  was  the 
great  pi-ophet,  who  had  risen  in  Galilee,  and  they  asked  for  a 
miracle  to  convince  them  of  His  Lordship  of  the  Temple.  But 
they  did  not  believe  in  Him,  and  He  would  work  no  miracle  to 
compel  their  belief. 

But  He  answered  them  in  a  way,  that  foreshadowed  what 
their  unbelief  would  bring  on  the  Temple,  and  that  would  help 
future  generations  to  believe  in  Him,  saying,  "  Destroy  this 
Temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it  up  again  ;  "  it  foretold 
to  them,  what  they  would  do  to  His  human  body,  the  Temple  of 
the  living  God,  and  on  which  would  be  built  the  new  kingdom, 
and  also  His  resurrection  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day  ;  but 
they  did  not  understand  Him. 

But  said  the  Temple  was  forty-six  years  building,  and 
"  wilt  thou  raise  it  in  three  days  ?  "  When  Christ  rose  from  the 
dead,  His  disci])les  remembered  His   words,  and  believed  the 


8S  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

prophecy  which  foretold  His  three  days  burial.  The  disciples 
did  not  understand  Christ's  words  any  more  tiian  tlie  Je\\>  ; 
there  was  the  same  obscurity'  in  Ilis  prophecies,  as  in  tlic  old 
propliets,  until  tliey  were  fulfilled.  And  this  candor,  in  incri- 
dentally  telling  of  their  ignorance,  proves  their  honesty;  and  the 
time  of  the  temple's  building  proves  tliat  the  event  occured  at 
the  time  named,  because  it  was  nine  years  after  that  it  was 
finished. 

Christ  arrived  at  Jerusalem  some  days  before  the  Passover, 
and  wrought  several  miracles,  though  not  one  is  mentioned  in  the 
Gospel  ;  because  it  is  said,  "  many  believed  on  Him  when  they 
saw  the  miracles  He  did."  And  the  expulsion  of  the  violaters 
of  the  Temple,  without  opposition  from  tliem,  must  have  looked 
like  a  miracle  to  the  beholders,  and  been  subject  of  notoriety  in 
Jerusalem  ;  and  one  at  least  of  the  believers,  was  a  rich  and 
eminent  man,  Nicoderaus,  though  he  did  not  publicly  profess  it  ; 
and  Christ  made  no  special  efforts  to  win  the  rulers  to  believe  in 
Him,  for  He  knew  their  minds,  and  needed  not  their  help  to 
make  Him  known,  or  His  doctrines  to  prevail;  and  it  was  essen- 
tial for  the  success  and  conclusion  of  His  mission,  that  He 
should  not  positively  declare  His  Messiahship  to  them,  until  He 
w^as  ready  to  be  crucified  on  His  fourth  attendance  at  the  Pass- 
over. 

It  is  probable  Nicodemus  was  present  at  the  cleansing  of 
the  Temple,  and  when  tlie  rulers  asked  a  sign  from  Christ  ;  and 
though  he  belonged  to  the  l)igoted  sect  of  the  Pharisees,  lie  ap- 
pears to  have  been  a  true  Israelite  expecting  the  Messiah,  and 
ready  to  believe  on  sufficient  testimony  ;  and  he  went  to  Christ 
by  night  to  learn  moi'e  of  His  doctrines,  and  w^as  gladly  received 
and  instructed. 

The  night  visit  shows,  that  the  rulers  doubted  that  Jesus 
was  the  Ciu-ist  ;  and  Nicodemus  was  afraid  to  confess  his  faith  in 
Him,  until  he  had  learned  moi-e  of  His  doctrines.     Ar.d  he  said 


LIFE    OF    CHEIST.  89 

to  Christ,  "Rabbi,  we  know  that  Thou  art  a  teacher  come  from 
God  :  for  no  man  can  do  these  miracles  Tliou  doest,  except  God 
be  with  Him."  And  Christ  said,  "  Verily  I  say  nnto  thee,  ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  again  of  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost  he  can- 
not see  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  "  the  original,  {cmothev)  means 
"  from  al)ove,"  a  second  birth  from  God,  and  without  that  birth 
man  has  no  understanding  of  spiritual  things  ;  and  IMicodemus 
showed  it,  asking,  "  How  can  a  man  be  born  again  when  he  is 
old  ?  " 

Though  the  question  was  not  reverently  expressed,  Christ's 
courtesy  neither  noticed  nor  resented  it  ;  but  caused  Him  to 
repeat  the  truth  in  another  way,  "  Yei'ily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot 
enter  the  kingdom  of  God."  Both  sayings  were  strange  to  the 
ruler,  and  the  learned  Pharisee,  whose  word  was  law  to  the  peo- 
ple; and  he  must  have  been  astonished  at  Christ's  dictum,  "  I  say 
unto  you." 

That  was  the  first  time  Christ  had  come  in  direct  personal 
instruction  to  a  ruler  of  the  Jews,  and  he  was  iiuich  older  than 
Christ  ;  yet  He  proved  vastly  his  superior  in  spiritual  knowledire, 
and  of  the  analogy  between  the  laws  of  man's  physical  and 
spiritual  birth,  and  of  the  mysteries  of  the  natural  and  spiritual 
worlds,  which  were  known  to  Christ,  or  He  could  not  have  made 
the  comparison,  and  which  Nicodemus  could  no  more  understand 
than  the  cause  of  the  blowing  of  the  winds,  as  great  a  mysterv 
now  as  it  was  then.  Then  Christ  began  that  illustration  of 
Divine  truth  by  earthly  analogies,  tliat  He  so  often  used, — wliich 
were  so  in  advance  of  the  teachings  of  any  preceding  prophet 
or  philosopher,  and  which  is  now  a  stronger  proof  of  His  D'ivinc 
Nature  than  all  His  miracles  ;  for  it  is  knowledge  yet  known 
only  to  God. 

When  Nicodemus  asked,  "  How  can  these  things  be  ?  " 
Christ  said,  "  Art  thou  a  master  in  Israel,  a  d  knowest  not  tliese 


93  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

tliiîi2çs  ?  Ycrily,  verily,  '  I  say  unto  thee,  -vve  speak  that  vtg  do 
know,  and  testify  that  we  have  seen  ;  and  ye  receive  not  our  tes- 
timony. If  I  liave  told  you  earthly  things,  and  ye  believe  not, 
Low  shall  you  helieve  if  I  tell  you  Heavenly  thing's."  This  too 
must  have  seemed  strange  language  for  this  young  peasant  of 
Nazareth,  as  Jesus  appeared  to  Nicodemns;  and  though  it  was 
designed  to  confirm  his  faith  in  Ilim  as  tlic  Messiah,  his  unljelief 
made  it  only  bewilder  him. 

Had  Nicodemus  known  what  we  now  know,  as  Christ 
knew  it  then,  that  the  living  foetus  in  embryo  floats  in  water, 
and  is  helped  to  the  birth  by  it,  into  the  kingdom  of  nature,  he 
would  have  seen  the  beautiful  analogy  to  which  Christ  referred  ; 
and  why  he  could  not  see,  nor  enter  the  kingdom  of  God  without 
the  second  spiritual  birth  from  above,  the  new  way  opened  to  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven.  And  how  wonderful  it  looks,  when  we 
read,  that,  "In  the  beginning"  the  earth  was  an  embryo  in 
water,  and  received  its  organization  and  birth  by  "  the  moving  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  on  the  face  of  the  water." 

Jesus  said  to  him,  "  That  Avhich  is  l)orn  of  the  flesh  is  flesh, 
and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  Spirit.  Marvel  not  that  I 
said  unto  you,  ye  must   born  again," 

Jesus  not  only  reproved  this  Doctor  of  the  Law^  for  his  want 
of  understanding  of  spiritual  things,  which  comes  from  a  pure 
heart  and  enlightened  mind,  and  so  was  a  type  of  the  regenera- 
tion he  had  come  to  introduce,  but  He  showed  him  how  nnicli 
more  He  knew  of  these  mysteries  then  he  did  ;  and  if  he  could 
not  understand  what  he  knew  of  earthly  things,  how  could  he 
expect  to  understand  what  He  knew  of  Heavenly  things, — thus 
intimating  His  Divine  nature. 

The  doctrine  of  regeneration  was  not  entirely  a  new  thing, 
because  the  Prophets  and  ancient  Philosophei-s  had  taught  that 
a  renewal  of  man's  life  and  character  were  essential  to  his  high- 
est attainment;  but  they  had  no  knowledge  of  a  spiritual  change. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  91 

•but  of  one  made  bj  their  own  self-culture.  Tlie  doctrine  of 
mstenpsycliosis  was  also  a  type  of  tlie  struggle  foi  a  higher 
life.  But  Christ  taught  a  new  regeneration  wrought  only  by 
the  spirit  of  God,  througli  the  sacrament  of  Baptism,  that  admits 
the  person  into  new  spiritual  relations  with  God,  and  was  one  of 
.the  great  blessings  Pie  came  to  l)ring. 

We  owe  to  this  interview  of  Nicodemus  with  Cln-ist  the  only 
clear  revelation  of  the  doctrine  of  Baptismal  Regeneration  in 
the  Gospel,  and  that  it  is  the  sacrament  for  admission  into  His 
kingdom  on  earth  and  in  Heaven. 

Then  our  Lord  propounded  to  Nicodemus  anotlier  mystery, 
respecting  Himself  as  the  Christ,  which  is  as  inscrutible  to  this 
day,  that,  "  No  man  hath  ascended  up  to  Heaven,  but  He  who 
came  down  from  Heaven,  even  the  Son  of  Man  who  is  in  Heaven." 
Nicodemus  knew  that  the  title  Son  of  Man  belonged  to  Christ  ; 
and  this  %vas  teaching  him  that  infinite  mystery,  that  the  Son  of 
God  in  Him  came  from  Heaven  ;  and  in  virtue  of  that  union  He 
was  in  Heaven,  and  derived  His  knowledge  of  the  mysteries  He 
taught  him  from  Heaven.  And  to  this  mystery  of  Himself  He 
also  revealed  another,  which  pointed  onward  to  the  connection  of 
this  union  with  the  mystery  of  the  regeneration  of  which  He 
had  spoken,  through  His  own  sacrifice. 

"  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so 
must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up  :  that  whosoever  Ijelieveth  in 
Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."  Thus  in  the  early 
part  of  His  ministry,  Christ  foretold  to  this  ruler,  who  three 
years  later  was  to  play  an  important  part  in  it,  how  it  would  end. 
Because  ISTicodemus  knew,  that  that  serpent  was  a  symbol  of  the 
Messiah,  and  of  the  salvation  of  man,  and  the  destruction  of 
Satan's  power,  which  were  to  come  through  Him  ;  and  then  He 
told  him  the  reason  for  all  this,  "  Because  God  so  loved  tlie 
world,  tliat  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  Him   should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life. 


93  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

For  God  sent  not  His  Son  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world  ; 
but  that  the  world,  thron^li  Him,  miglit  be  saved." 

And  thus  Jesus  delivered  to  Nicodemus  an  epitome  of  the 
whole  Gospel  ;  and  of  all  that  had  besn  promised  In'  tlie  Proph- 
ets. And  then  lie  swept  away  the  false  expectation  of  the  set;t 
to  wliicli  he  belonged,  that  the  Jews  were  to  inherit  His  king- 
dom because  of  their  descent  from  Abrah.am  and  David  ;  but 
now,  faith  in  Hinl  and  obedience  to  His  Gospel  was  the  only 
way  to  salvation  ;  and  without  faith  in  Him,  he  and  all  others 
were  condemned  already;  because  they  "believed  not  in  the 
Xame  of  the  only  l)egotten  Son  of  God."  And  this  is  the  condem- 
nation, that  Light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved  dark- 
ness rather  than  light  because  their  deeds  are  evil  ;  "  and  Light 
is  a  title  which  Christ  applied  to  Himself,  as  a  symbol  of  the 
reo'eneration  of  mankind  and  society,  wliich  He  had  come  to 
produce. 

Words  could  hardly  express  to  Nicodcmus  more  directly,  that 
He  who  talked  with  him  is  the  Christ;  or  could  liave  warned 
him  more  effectively  of  the  danger  of  unbelief  in  rejecting  Him; 
and  no  prophet  or  revelation  from  God,  ever  before  shed  such 
liglit  on  the  mysteries  of  God,  and  the  incarnation,  and  tlie  king- 
dom of  Heaven,  and  man's  relation  to  God,  and  God's  love  for 
men,  and  the  glorious  destiny  whicli  Christ's  coming  was  open- 
ing to  them.  It  showed  Nicodemus  how  the  Avater  of  the  Law 
was  about  to  be  changed  into  the  wine  of  tlie  Gospel.  And  it 
made  an  impression  on  him  that  future  events  show  was  never 
lost. 

This  discourse  was  intended  not  only  for  Nicodemus,  and 
tiic  rulers  of  the  Jews,  to  whom  as  their  representative  He  would 
naturally  tell  it,  but  also  for  all  mankind  to  whom  His  Gospel 
sliould  come  ;  and  as  condemnation  to  all  wlio  refuse  to  believe 
ia  Him,  because  He  said,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  We 
speak  that  We  do  know,  and  testify  that  We  liave  seen;  and  ye 


LIFEOFCHEIST.  93 

receive  not  Our  testiinony."  The  plural  form  of  we,  may  have 
been  accord mg  to  a  Hel)rew  nsage  to  give  emphasis  to  His 
M'ords  ;  but  it  was  also  a  declaration  of  a  great  mystery,  that  the 
Father  was  speaking  witli  Him  ;  as  He  said  at  Bethany,  in  a 
speech  made  to  the  people  tliere,  six  days  before  His  crucifixion  : 
"  I  have  not  spoken  of  Myself  ;  but  the  Fatlier  who  sent  Me. 
He  gave  Me  a  commandment,  what  I  should  say,  and  what  I 
sliould  speak.  And  I  know  His  commandment  is  life  everlast- 
ing :  whatsoever  I  speak  therefore,  even  as  the  Father  said  unto 
Me,  so  I  speak."  Is  it  any  wonder,  tlien,  when  we  see  how  mys- 
terious the  w./rks  of  God  are,  that  there  should  be  a  similar 
mystery  in  His  words  ? 


CHAPTER    XV 

CHRIST  RETURNS  TO  JUDEA 

After  Christ's  visit  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  public  and  private 
testimony  He  gave  the  rulers  of  the  Jews  of  His  Messialiship, 
He  and  His  disciples  journeyed  towards  Capernaum  ;  and  at 
Aenon  He  tarried  and  taught,  and  there  met  His  Messenger  the 
Baptist,  and  their  disciples,  baptized  there.  Tliere  was  no  dif- 
ference yet  between  Christ's  and  John's  baptism  ;  l)oth  were  only 
professions  of  repentance  of  sins,  of  faith  in  Christ  as  at  hand, 
and  preparations  to  enter  His  kingdom  when  it  did  come  ;  for 
Christian  baptism,  and  regençration,  did  not  take  place  until  the 
Holy  Ghost  came,  and  His  kingdom  was  inaugurated  : 

And  there,  a  question  arose  between  John's  discij^les  and  the 
Jews  about  purifying  ;  and  his  disciples  told  him  that  Christ 
was  baptizing  (thougli  He  baptized  none  but  by  His  disciples)  and 
all  men  were  going  to  Him.  They  saw  John's  fame  paling 
l)ef()re  tlie  rising  Sun  of  Righteousness,  and  were  jealous  lor 
their  master,  and  so  complained. 

Jolm's  first  testimony  to  Christ  was,  that  He  is  the  Lamb 
of  God,  and  Son  of  God;  but  now  he  called  Him  the  Bride- 
groom, and  Himself  His  Messenger;  though  He' did  not  know 
tliat  He  was  soon  to  go  before  him  to  martyrdom  and  Paradise. 
He  declared  Christ  to  be  from  above,  and  His  doctrines  from 
Heaven,  and  foretold  His  reception:  "no  man  receiveth  His  tes- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST,  95 

timoiiy,'''  and  that  the  wrath  of  God  will  abide  on  all  rejectors 
of  Ilini. 

John  wrought  no  miracdes,  preached  no  doctrines  like 
Christ's,  and  never  spake  as  He  did  by  His,  "  I  say  unto  you  ;  '" 
and  he  was  not  annoyed  by  His  increasing  popularity,  for  he  was 
only  the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom  ;  and  his  joy  was  fulfilled  in 
Him,  because  He  w;;s  from  above,  and  above  all,  and  sent  from 
God  to  speak  God's  words,  and  do  His  works  ;  and  then  as  his 
last  testimony  to  Christ,  he  declared,  "  Ho  must  increase  but  I 
must  decrease  ;  "  he  said,  "  The  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath 
given  all  things  into  His  hands;  he  that  believeth  on  the  Son 
hath  everlasting  life  ;  and  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall 
not  see  life;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 

Returning  from  Judea  to  Galilee,  Cln-ist  and  His  disciples 
must  needs  pass  through  Samaria,  which  was  near  the  heart  of 
the  Holy  Land  ;  but  was  classed  by  the  Jews  as  a  Gentile  region, 
because  of  the  foreigners  introduced  there  by  the  king  of  Assyria, 
after  the  ten  tribes  were  carried  into  captivity,  and  because  of 
the  schism  of  the  Samaritans  from  the  Jewish  Church,  They 
erected  a  rival  Temple,  13.  C,  400,  on  Mt.  Gerazini,  and  insti- 
tuted a  priesthood  and  worship  of  their  own,  Avithout  Divine 
authority;  the  Temple  was  destroyed  B.  C.  109,  but  the  Sama- 
ritans maintained  their  rival  worship,  and  were  hated  by  the 
Jews.  This  helps  to  explain  the  incident  which  occured  on  this 
visit  of  Christ.  At  every  place,  where  we  catch  a  glimpse  of 
His  life  and  acts,  some  new  truth  is  revealed  appropriate  to  the 
time  and  place,  but  of  universal  application. 

Al)out  noon-day  Jesus  arrived  at  Sychar,  in  Samaria,  the  an- 
cient Sl)echem,  and  rested  on  the  curb  of  a  well  there  dug  by  His 
great  ancestor,  according  to  the  flesh,  two  thousand  years  l)e{'ore. 
The  Patriarch  Jacob  bought  the  land  from  a  man  named  S^^char, 
and  called  the  place  after  him;  it  had  many  associations  of  in- 
terest for  our  Lord  ;  for  there,  as  the  Lord  God,  He  had  wrestled 


96  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

with.  Jacob,  at  the  ford  Jabbok  ;  and  here  we  learn,  tliat  liis 
Inunan  nature  felt  weariness,  hunger,  and  thirst  as  the  ^on  of 
Man,  like  all  the  race,  as  prophecy  foretold  He  would. 

AVliile  resting  there  a  woman  of  Samaria  came  to  (haw 
water,  and  Christ  asked  her  to  give  Him  a  drink  :  "  Fcir  His 
disciples  had  gone  to  the  city  to  buy  food."  The  won;an  a<ked 
Him,  "  How  is  it  that  Tliou,  being  a  Jew,  askest  a  drink  of  mc, 
a  Samaritan  ?  For  the  Jews  have  no  dealings  with  the  Samari- 
tans." Thus  we  learn  that  Jesus'  person  was  of  the  Jewish  type  ; 
and  the  reference  to  the  animosity  between  the  two  pcoj/ies  is 
one  of  those  little  incidents,  which  prove  the  truth  of  the  narrative, 
for  no  writer  of  fiction  would  be  likely  to  speak  of  two  tliin  s 
so  trivial,  yet  which  are  so  conclusive,  that  the  Gospels  were 
written  in  the  early  part  of  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era. 
Similar  incidents  run  like  a  golden  thread  through  the  Gospels, 
and  bind  the  whole  into  a  remarkable  unity,  and  prove  that  it  is 
impossible  they  could  have  been  written  in  any  other  age. 

Jesus  said  to  the  woman,  "  If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of  God, 
and  who  It  is  that  saith  to  thee,  Give  Me  to  drink  :  tliou  wouldest 
have  asked  of  Him,  and  He  would  have  given  tliee  living  water." 

She  said  unto  Him,  "  Sir,  Thou  hast  nothing  to  draw  with 
and  the  well  is  deep:  from  whence,  then,  hast  Thou  this  living 
water?  Art  Thou  greater  than  our  father  Jacob,  who  gave  us 
this  well  ;  and  drank  thereof  himself,  aud  his  children,  and  his 
cattle  ?  "  This  Oriental  figurative  s^Jaeech  of  living  waters,  and 
the  picture  of  the  well,  and  the  mode  of  drawdng  water,  are 
additional  incidents  confirming  the  truth  of  the  narrative,  and  of 
the  time  and  country  where  it  was  written. 

Water  is  an  element  which  has  played  a  great  part  in  our 
world's  history,  in  the  redemption  of  man,  as  well  as  his  creation, 
— ^five-eighth's  <^)f  his  body  consisting  of  thi^  element.  And  what 
a  mystery  water  was,  for  eighteen  centuries;  men  did  not  know 
how  it  was  composed  of  subtle  gases.    God  has  made  it  a  great 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  97 

agent  in  the  ci-Gîitîou  of  botli  the  natni-al  and  spiritual  worlds;  and 
Jcsns'  words  show  that  He  then  alone  of  all  mankind,  and  of  all  wlio 
were  to  live  for  centuries,  understood  their  mysterious  relations. 

Tlie  well  was  a  fitting  place  for  the  Great  Teacher  to  speak 
words  wliich  would  testify  to  tlie  future  generations,  how  much 
His  knowledge  was  then  in  advance  of  all  known  by  men  ;  and 
to  re\cal  to  the  Samaritan,  that  He  was  the  great  "  Gift  of  God," 
tlie  Living  Water,  the  Fountain  to  be  opened  at  Jerusalem  for  sin 
and  uncleanness. 

And  as  water  helps  to  give  life  and  birth  to  animal 
nature,  and  to  sustain  it  afterwards,  it  is  reasonable  that  it  should 
play  an  important  part  in  man's  regeneration  and  salvation. 
The  old  world  was  destroyed  by  water,  a  new  spiritual  world 
was  to  be  born  from  Christ,  and  be  saved  as  Noah  was — by  water. 
And  Jesus  showed  His  power  over  it,  by  walking  on  its  surface, 
and  stilling  its  troubled  waves,  and  turning  it  into  wine  ;  and  by 
guiding  His  disciples  to  the  room,  prepared  for  the  Pascal  Sup- 
per, by  a  man  bearing  a  pitcher  of  water  ;  and  lastly  by  shedding 
it  from  the  surroundings  of  His  own  heart  with  His  blood  on  the 
cross,  as  the  finishing  work  of  redemption,  that  the  world  might 
know  and  believe  that  He  could  give  it  power  to  regenerate  and 
wash  away  sin. 

So  He  said  to  the  woman,  if  slie  had  known  who  He  is,  the 
gift  of  God,  His  eternal  Son,  and  had  asked  it  from  Him,  He 
would  have  given  her  living  water  ;  that  sh.e  would  never  have 
thirsted  again,  but  be  in  her  a  well  of  water  springing  up  un- 
to everlasting  life.  "  Christ  treated  her  ignorance  as  He  did 
Nicodemus',  making  it  a  means  to  enable  her  to  understand 
higher  spiritual  truth;  and  tliis  is  another  incident  shoM'ing  the 
unity  of  action  in  Christ,  that  His  person  and  character  were 
real;  and  the  woman,  seeing  tlie  deeper  spiritual  meaning  of 
Christ's  words,  said  to  Him:  "  Sir,  give  me  this  water,  that  i 
thirst  not,  neither  come  hither  to  draw." 

T 


98  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Josiis  saw  that  this  woman  was  longing  for  a  Letter  life 
than  she  had  been  leading,  but  that  fear  and  shame  prevented 
her  from  confessing  it  to  a  Jew  and  a  stranger  ;  and  she  repre- 
sented her  feelings  in  the  subtile  way,  of  asking  for  earthly 
water,  to  save  the  labor  of  coming  to  tlie  well  ;  our  Lord  with 
greater  subtilty  proceeded  to  make  her  reveal  her  mind  : 

And  He  said  to  her,  "  Go  call  thy  liusband,  and  come  hith- 
er." This  opened  the  way  for  the  confession  of  her  sins,  and 
to  iind  out  what  He  meant  by  the  living  water.  She  answered, 
"I  have  no  husband;"  and  Jesus  said,  "  Thou  hast  well  said,  I 
have  no  husband  ;  for  thou  hast  had  live  husbands  ;  and  he  whom 
thou  now  hast,  is  not  thy  husband  ;  in  that,  thou  saidest  truly." 

The  M'oman  saw  that  Jesus  knew  secrets  of  her  life^  whicli 
must  have  been  unknown  to  Him  as  a  stranger  ;  and  she  said,  "  Sir, 
I  perceive  that  Thou  art  a  prophet.  Our  fathers  worshipped  in 
this  mountain;  and  Ye  say,  that  in  Jerusalem  is  the  place  where 
men  ought  to  worship."  She  showed  that  her  mind  was  not  in 
peace,  and  she  wanted  to  know  the  right  way  of  salvation. 

And  Christ  told  her,  the  hour  had  come  for  the  new  Dispen- 
sation, when  neither  Jerusalem  nor  Samaria  would  be  sole  places 
for  God's  worship  ;  but  it  could  be  rendered  everywhere,  when 
offered  "  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  This  was  His  iirst  announce- 
ment of  the  change  He  had  come  to  make  in  the  public  ^vorship 
of  God.  By  His  prophetical  office  He  declared  the  time  had 
come — for  both  Rituals  and  Priesthood  to  to  give  place  to  better 
ones. 

And  He  did  not  consider  it  bigoted  or  uncharitable  to  tell 
her,  that  the  Samaritans  had  cut  themselves  off  from  God's  cov- 
enant and  salvation  by  their  schism  ;  though  tliey  held  to  part  of 
the  Bible,  and  had  a  priesthood  and  ritiuil  similar  to  the  Jews, 
and  were  expecting  the  Messiah.  The  Old  Testament  often 
speaks  of  the  Spirit  of  G(.)d  ;  but  nowhere  represents,  as  Christ 
here  did,  tliat  in  His  essence  "  God  is  a  Spirit."     This  was  a  new 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  99 

revelation,  and  that  God  must  be  worshipped  in  spirit  and  truth  ; 
not  bj  a  ceremonial  worship,  as  she  Avas  accustomed  to. 

The  woman  said  she  "knew  the  Messiah  cometh,  who  is 
called  Christ,  and  that  He  will  tell  us  all  things  ;  "  whicli  shows 
^hM  she  had  truer  expectations  of  His  mission,  than  even  Nico- 
de*nus,  and  was  better  preparedfor  His  coming.  And  He  said  un- 
to her,  "  I  who  speak  unto  thee  am  He."  And  so,  to  this  poor 
sinful,  but  penitent  woman,  He  first  plainly  declared  Himself  the 
Christ.  And  this  is  not  the  way  an  impostor  would  have  been 
most  likely  to  do  ;  but  it  was  as  prophecy  foretold  Christ,  as  mak- 
ing Himself  of  no  reputation,  as  calling  sinners  to  repentance,  and 
revealing  Himself  to  the  lowly  ;  not  the  way  a  great  prophet 
would  have  done,  who  sought  his  own,  or  any  earthly  glory  ; 
because  most  of  their  messages  were  to  kings  or  rulers  of  the 
Jews. 

The  disciples  returned  from  the  city,  and  were  astonished  to 
iind  Jesus  talking  with  the  woman  :  "  yet  no  man  said,  wiiat 
seekest  Thou  ?  or  why  talkest  Thou  with  her  ?  "  They  were  as- 
tonished that  He  would  liave  any  conversation  with  a  Samari- 
tan ;  yet,  in  their  silence  we  see  an  expression  of  their  reverence 
such  as  might  be  expected,  if  they  believed  Him  the  Christ. 

Meanwhile  the  woman  left  lier  pail,  and  went  to  tlie  city, 
and  asked  the  people  "  to  come  and  see  a  Man,  who  told  me  all 
things  that  ever  I  did  !  Is  not  this  the  Christ  ?  "  This  Samari- 
tan, living  among  a  people  noted  for  profligacy  and  schism,  was 
the  tii'st  volunteer  missionary  to  announce  to  her  countrymen 
that  Christ  had  come,  and  invite  them  to  see  Him;  and  her 
faith  moved  the  whole  city,  so  that  a  multitude  went  out  to 
see  Him. 

In  this  interval  the  disciples  asked  Jesus  to  eat.  "  But  He 
said  unto  them,  I  have  meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of;  "  and 
the  disciples  asked  one  another,  "  Hath  any  man  brought  Him 
aught  to  eat?"    And  He,  knowing  the  inquiry,  made  it  the  occa- 


100  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

.sion  to  tcfuîh  them  more  of  the  mysteries  of  His  life  and  the 
woriv  He  was  doinu; — .  aying,  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him 
Who  sent  Me,  and  to  iinish  His  work.'' 

It  looks  as  if  our  Lord  let  no  moment,  or  occasion,  pass 
witliout  turning  it  to  useful  instruction  for  His  disciples,  or  any 
])erson  who  came  in  His  way,  eithei*  seeking  or  needing  instruc- 
tion. He  took  their  minds  away  from  the  meat  whicli  perisheth, 
to  the  higher  spiritual  food,  and  work  He  had  come  to  do  ;  and 
He  was  refreshed,  because  in  tlieir  absence  He  had  found  one 
poor  sinner  who  was  ready  to  confess  her  sins,  to  believe  in  Him 
and  be  saved. 

And  turning  to  His  disciples,  He  pointed  them  to  the  har- 
vests in  the  neighboring  fields  beginning  to  ripen,  and  reminded 
them  that  the  world  was  ripening  for  sowing  spiritual  seed  ;  and 
l)v  laboring  wdth  Him  they  would  receive  the  wages,  and  gather 
'•  fruit  unto  life  eternal — that  both  He  who  soweth  and  he  who 
reapeth,  may  rejoice  together.  I  sent  you  to  reap  that,  whereon 
ye  bestowed  no  labor;  other  men  labored,  and  ye  are  entered 
into  their  labors." 

When  the  Samaritans  came  to  Jesus,  many  believed  on 
Him,  for  the  saying  of  the  woman;  but  many  more  believed, 
not  because  of  her  saying,  but  because  "  We  have  heard  Him 
ourselves,  and  know  that  this  is  indeed  the  Christ — the  Saviour 
of  the  world."  ^o  mention  is  made  of  any  words  spoken  by 
Christ,  yet  He  taught  the  Samaritans  and  they  believed  ;  and  He 
saw  tliat  the  harvest  was  ripening  for  Him  to  enlarge  His  work, 
and  send  more  laborers — as  this  one  woman  had  done  so  much. 
How  far  His  disciples  had  already  helped  him,  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact — that  as  soon  as  Andrew  believed  in  Him  he  callei) 
his  brother  Simon  ;  and  as  soon  as  Philip  believed  he  brought 
Ids  brother  Nathaniel  to  Jesus,  and  he  believed;  and  as  soon  as 
the  Samaritan  woman  believed,  she  called  many  fellow  citizens 
who  also  believed  ;  and  they  were  sent  to  reap,  as  probably  wen^ 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  101 

many  others,  on  what  they  had  bestowed  no  labor,  but  neverthe- 
less would' receive  eternal  wages  and  rewards  for. 

Very  different  Avas  the  way  Christ's  announcement  of  His 
Messiahship  was  received  by  these  despised  Samaritans,  in  com- 
parison with  its  re(;eption  by  His  townsmen  at  Nazareth,  and  l)y 
the  Kulers  of  the  Jews;  He  knew  beforehand  of  the  M'elcome, 
and  that  also  was  food  of  wliich  His  disciples  did  not  know. 
And  there  is  nothinsi;  more  remarkable  in  His  journey,  than  this 
interview  with  the  Samaritans  ;  and  that  they  so  promptly  con- 
fessed Him  as  "  the  Cln-ist,  the  Saviour  of  the  world." 

How  much  we  owe  to  the  faith,  confession,  and  conversa- 
tion of  this  woman  with  our  Lord,  for  an  explanation  of  one  of 
the  prof oundest  mysteries  of  His  religion  !  The  water  of  life 
He  gives  is  His  own  spiritual  life,  which  regenerates  and  makes 
us  Christ-men,  or  Christians  ;  makes  our  bodies  temples  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  a  well  of  living  water,  springing  up  unto  everlasting 
life;  which  gives  tlie  spirit  of  wisdom,  and  understanding,  and 
spiritual  strength,  of  the  love  and  fear  of  God,  and  enal)les  us  to 
bring  forth  fruits  of  righteousness  like  Christ's  ;  and  His  pres- 
ence quickened  in  that  woman,  the  desire  for  that  living  water. 

In  the  Centurion,  our  Saviour  discovered  a  seed  of  faith — 
destined  to  grow  and  fill  tiie  Gentile  world  ;  and  now  in  the  wo- 
man of  Samaria  was  a  like  seed  of  faith,  which  prepared  the  way 
for  His  Kingdom  there.  Yet  when  Christ  sent  out  His  Apos- 
tles, He  charged  them  not  to  go  to  Samaria,  or  tlie  Gentiles  ;  be- 
cause the  offer  of  His  salvation  must  first  bo  made  to  God's  own 
covenant  people- 
Two  characteristics  appear  in  Christ's  teaching,  Avhich  dis- 
tinguish Him  from  all  the  Prophets  and  Philosophers  the  world 
has  had,  and  that  increased  as  He  drew  near  the  end  of  His  min- 
istry; first.  His  antlioritative  "I  say,"  as  if  His  word  were 
absolute,  eternal,  law;  and  second,  the  illustration  of  Heavenly 
truth  by  earthly  analogies  and  things;    and  this  knowledge  is 


102  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

even  a  higlier  proof  of  His  Divine  nature,  and  that  lie  came 
from  Heaven,  and  created  tlie  world,  than  all  His  miracles, 
— because  they  occur  incidentally  in  His  teaching,  and  were  n()t 
presented  as  proofs  of  His  Messiahship,  but  intended  to  contirm 
the  faith  of  future  generations. 

Indeed  the  faith  of  the  Samaritans  w-as  foretold  by  the 
prophet  Amos  :  "  so  shall  the  children  of  Israel  be  taken  out 
that  dwell  in  Samaria,  in  the  corner  of  a  bed."  And  Jesus  had 
now  been  announced,  by  John  on  the  Jordon,  as  the  Messiah  ; 
had  declared  Himself  at  Nazareth,  had  exercised  His  power  in 
Jerusalem  as  Lord  of  the  Temple,  calling  it  My  House  and 
driving  out  its  delilers  ;  had  been  received  as  the  Christ,  the 
Saviour  of  the  world  by  the  schismatical  Samai-itans,  and  the 
first  year  of  His  ministry  was  drawing  to  a  close  ;  and  He 
returned  to  Capernaum,  to  make  that  His  home,  because  of  His 
rejection  and  persecution  by  His  townsmen  at  Nazareth. 


srtT^ 


CHAPTER   XVI 


THE  SECOND  YEAR'S  MINISTRY. 


Christ  passed  His  first  year's  ministry  teaching  and  worhing 
miracles  in  Galilee,  Jndea,  and  Samaria,  to  convince  the  rulers 
and  the  people  of  His  Messiahship;  and  while  the  people  be- 
lieved in  Him,  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  doubted  ; — so  He  began 
His  second  year  manifesting  His  power  in  a  greater  degree. 

After  remaining  two  days  at  Sychar,  Christ  returned  to 
Galilee,  and  took  up  His  abode  at  Capernaum,  where  He  was 
cordially  received  ;  because  some  of  its  citizens  had  been  at 
Jerusalem  at  the  Passover,  and  saw  and  heard  what  He  did  and 
said  there.  His  fame  had  now  spread  through  Palestine,  and 
multitudes  followed  Him  to  listen  to  His  teaching,  and  be  cured 
of  their  diseases,  and  offered  Him  opportunities  for  the  larger 
exercise  of  His  love  and  mercy.  ' 

One  day  as  He  was  teaching  in  the  house,  and  Pharisees 
nnd  Doctors  of  the  Law  were  present  from  many  towns  in 
Galilee  and  Judea,  and  from  Jerusalem,  and  the  house  was 
tilled,  and  the  doors  crowded,  the  friends  of  a  man  with  the 
palsy,  unable  to  approach  Cl.jrist,  climbed  to  the  roof  of  the 
house,  opened  its  covering,  and  let  the  sick  man  down  into  His 
presence;  and  when  He  saw  him,  He  said,  "Son,  thy  sins  are 
forgiven  thee." 


104  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

This  was  the  first  recorded  instance,  wliere  Christ  had 
pronounced  the  foriçiveness  of  sins  ;  and  certain  Scribes  reasoned 
witli  themselves  saying,  "  Why  doth  this  man  tlius  speak  bias" 
phemies?  Who  can  forgive  sins  but  God  only?"  Clirist 
showed  them  that  He  knew  tlieir  thoughts,  which  none  but  God 
could  know  ;  and  asked  them  "which  were  easiest — to  heal  the  sick 
or  forgive  sins  ?  And  that  3'e  may  know  that  the  Son  of  Man 
liath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins,  He  said  to  the  sick  of  the 
palsy,  I  say  unto  thee,  Arise,  and  take  up  thy  bed,  and  go  unto 
thy  house;  and  he  immediately  obeyed — and  they  were  all 
amazed,  and  glorified  God,  saying,  "  We  nover  saw  it  in  this 
fashion." 

This  exercise  of  His  Divine  power  was  before  the  Scribes 
;;nd  Pliarisees,  who  had  come  to  watch  Him,  and  investig>.te 
His  claim  to  be  the  Messiah;  and  He  wrought  the  miracle  to 
convince  tliem,  that  He  could  forgive  sins,  as  well  as  cast  out 
devils,  and  heal  diseases;  saying.  He  did  it  as  the  Son  of  Man, 
which  title  they  knew  the  Psnlmist  and  Isaiah  applied  to  the 
Messiah,  and  by  which  He  afterwards  said  He  would  judge  the 
world;  and  that  He  knew  their  thoughts,  and  could  forgive  sins 
was  the  highest  proof  He  had  yet  given  of  His  Messiahship. 

Tliei-e  was  a  cluster  of  miracles,  healing  a  paralytic,  telling 
them  their  thoughts,  forgiving  a  man's  sins,  and  all  confirmed  by 
the  ac(;lamations  glorifying  God, — ^proving,  at  least,  that  the 
healing  of  the 'man  was  no  deception;  and  it  was  testimony  to 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  that  He  had  power  to  forgive  sins. 

And  tliat  is  another  picture  of  the  place  and  customs  of  the 
time  wlien  Christ  was  on  earth;  the  very  house  testifies  to  tlie 
truth  of  the  scene;  an  humble  cottage,  covered  with  thatch  of 
palm  or  straw, — as  they  are  in  peasant's  houses  to  tliis  day  in 
Pidestinc,  where  the  miracle  was  wrought.  These  incidental 
details,  if  tJiey  were  not  true  would  have  made  any  imposture  to 
be  easily  exposed. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  105 

Christ  would  work  no  miracle,  except  as  a  reward  for  faith  ; 
but  ill  this  case  the  faith  was  as  strong  in  the  men  who  bore  the 
palsied  man,  as  it  was  in  him;  and  He  appears  to  have  healed 
him  before  many  witnesses,  to  show  that  He  could,  and  God 
would,  forgive  sins  on  the  faith  of  others — wliich  is  the  ground 
on  whicli  children  are  brought  by  parents  and  sponsors  and 
entered  into  God's  covenant,  and  obtain  remission  of  original 
sin. 

All  things  wore  now  ready  for  our  Lord  to  make  His  next 
grand  move,  that  looked  like  preparation  for  His  Messianic 
Kingdom,  John  had  prepared  the  way  for  Him,  and  He  had 
now  prepared  the  way  for  a  further  development  of  His  king- 
dom. And  He  returned  to  Cana,  and  there  met  a  nobleman, 
whose  son  was  sick  at  Capernaum,  and  who  entreated  Him  to 
return  and  heal  him,  as  he  was  at  the  point  of  death;  his  faitli 
was  tried  by  our  Lord's  command,  "Go,  thy  son  liveth;"  and  he 
departed  for  his  home,  and  met  his  servants  coming  to  tell  him 
in  the  very  words  Jesus  spake  to  him,  "  Thy  son  liveth,"  and  he 
learned  that  the  recovery  was  at  the  identical  time  Jesus  said 
"  he  liveth;"  and  he  and  his  household  believed. 

The  nobleman's  faith  was  at  first  weak,  he  supposed  Christ's 
presence  essential  for  the  healing;  but  when  his  faith  failed  not, 
then  the  blessing  followed.  This  was  the  second  miracle  He 
wrought  after  His  return  from  Judea  to  Galilee  ;  and  the  men- 
tioning that  it  was  at  Cana,  where  he  changed  the  water  to  wiue, 
would  not  be  likely  to  liave  been  told,  if  the  narrative  were 
fiction  or  falsehood. 

As  Christ  returned  to  Capernaum,  He  saw  Matthew,  the 
Publican,  at  the  Receipt  of  Custom,  and  said  to  him,  "Follow 
me;"  and  he  arose  and  followed  Him.  The  Publicans  were 
generally  extortioners,  they  paid  large  l)ril3es  to  Roman  officials 
for  their  offices,  and  compelled  the  people  to  repay  them  ;  and  so 
were  hated  for  their  extortion,  and  fi-iendship  to  the  conquerors 


106  LIFii,    OF    CHRIST. 

of  the  conntiy.  But  our  Lord  saw  something  in  Mattliew  wliich 
showed  that  he  was  worthy  to  be  His  first  Evangelist,  and  an 
Apostle,  and  He  took  him  to  ti-ain  him  for  his  office  ;  and  the 
world's  experience  since  has  proved  the  wisdom  of  Oln-ist's 
judgment  and  choice, — ^for  his  Gospel,  to  this  day,  is  one  of  the 
crown  jewels  in  our  world's  literature. 

That  day  Matthew,  whose  Hebrew  name  was  Alplicus,  the 
Son  of  Levi,  invited  Christ  and  His  disciples  lO  dine  with  him  ; 
and  when  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  saw  it,  they  asked  His 
disciples  how  He  could  eat  and  drink  with  Publicans  and  sin- 
ners? When  He  heard  it,  He  said,  "the  whole  need  not  a 
]ihysician,  but  the  sick.  Put  go  ye  and  learn  what  that  meaneth, 
I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice  :  I  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners,  to  repentance."  This  was  another  fore- 
shadowing of  the  change  He  had  come  to  make,  by  transferring 
the  sacrificial  ceremonial  of  Judaism,  to  the  more  merciful  sac- 
ramental service  of  Cliristianit3\  And  He  showed  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  that  in  going  among  sinners,  He  was  doing  the 
Messiah's  work;  and  it  rebuked  their  self-righteousness,  as  they 
knew  the  Scriptures  declared  there  are  none  righteous.  Thus 
their  complaint  caused  Christ  to  make  His  gracious  proclamation, 
that  He  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners,  and  so  all 
mankind;  and  repentance,  not  sacrifice,  would  save  them. 

Not  long  after  this  John's  disciples  came  to  Christ  and 
asked,  "Why  do  we  and  the  Pharisees  fast  oft,  but  Thy  dis- 
ciples fast  not?"  This  occasion  He  used  also  to  declare  His 
Messiahship,  by  the  name  of  the  Bridegroom,  which  their  master 
had  given  to  Jesus  more  than  a  year  before. 

God  appointed  fasting  for  man,  when  He  created  him,  as 
a  law  of  discipline  to  keep  his  will  obedient,  his  mind  pure,  to 
promote  his  health  and  longevity  ;  and  John's  disciples  doul)ted 
if  Christ  was  the  Messiah,  because  He  and  His  disciples  neg- 
lected it.     But   He   used  their  unbelief  to  give  them  another 


LIFE    OF    CHKIST.  107 

proof,  calling  Himself  the  Buidegroom — a  title  applied  to  tlie 
Messiah  by  the  Psalmist  and  Isaiah  ;  and  giving  it  as  a  reason 
why  His  disciples  did  not  fast,  because  He  the  Clirist  was  witli 
tliera  ;  but  when  He  was  taken  away,  thus  foretelling  tlie  violeul 
end,  they  would  fast. 

And  how  all  this  now  confirms  our  faith  ;  as  it  rebuked 
their  pharisaical  fasting,  it  proclaimed  a  larger  liberty  undei 
the  Gospel,  when  each  one  would  show  his  love  and  obedience 
by  voluntary  fast — but  all  looking  back  to  His  "  taken  away." 
And  His  allusion  to  a  new  patch  and  an  old  garment,  and  new 
wine  in  new  bottles,  meant  that  Judaism  was  too  old  to  hold  the 
Gospel  truth  ;  too  weak  not  to  burst  and  run  to  waste  by  the  new 
spiritual  doctrines  He  had  come  to  reveal.  In  these  M'ays  He 
taught  them  the  reformation  He  had  come  to  make,  and  that  the 
calling  of  sinners  was  the  special  work  He  was  doing. 

Christ  called  no  Scribe,  Pharisee,  or  noblemen  to  be  His  inti- 
mate friends  or  Apostles,  to  give  eclat  to  His  mission  ;  in  Him  was 
the  unworldliness  of  God  who  created  the  world,  and  He  cared 
nothing  for  its  fame  or  glory  ;  had  He  courted  and  convinced 
the  Rulers  of  His  Messiahship,  it  would  have  thwarted  the  pur- 
pose for  which  He  came  ;  and  earthly  renown  was  nothing  to  Him, 
who  had  lived  eternally  in  the  glory  of  the  Godhead  in  Heaven. 

Soon  after  John's  disciples  had  departed,  there  came  a 
Ruler  of  the  Jews,  saying  to  Jesus,  that  his  daughter  was  dead, 
and  praying  Him  to  come  and  lay  His  hands  on  her  and  "  she  shall 
live  ;  "  and  as  He  went,  a  woman  with  an  issue  of  blood  twelve 
years  came  behind  Him,  and  touched  Hid  garments,  and  He 
turned  about  and  said,  "  Daughter  be  of  good  comfort  thy  faitli 
hath  made  the  whole,  and  she  was  immediately  healed.  But 
when  He  came  to  the  Rulers  house  the  child  was  dead,  and  the 
mourning  minstrels  were  making  lamentations.  Jesus  said  she 
is  not  dead  but  asleep,  not  dead  to  Him;  and  "He  took  her  by 
the  hand  and  she  nruse." 


lOS  LIFEOFCHRIST. 

There  were  two  successive  miracles,  one  in  a  throng  on  the 
higliway,  for  a  woman's  faith,  wntliout  solicitation  on  her  part; 
the  touch  of  His  garments  healed  her  ;  the  other  was  a  direct 
exercise  of  His  power  over  death  ;  that  caused  the  scorn  of  the 
people,  at  Christ's  calling  the  death,  a  sleep,  when  He  did  it  as 
the  first  proof  of  Plis  power  to  raise  all  the  dead.  These  miracles 
yet  more  increased  His  fame. 

Soon  after  depai-ting  from  Capernaum,  Christ  and  the 
disciples  made  another  circuit  of  Galilee  ;  and  as  they  journeyed 
two  blind  men  followed  crying.  Son  of  David  have  mercy  upon 
on  us  ;  "  and  as  He  entered  a  house  they  came  to  Him,  and  He 
asked  them,  "Believe  ye  that  I  am  able  to  do  this?  They 
answered  yea,  Lord."  They  first  professed  their  faith  in  Him, 
by  calling  Him  by  His  Messianic  title — Son  of  David  ;  and  they 
did  not  ask  to  have  their  sight  restored,  but  only  for  mercy  ;  and 
He  touched  their  eyes,  saying  "according  to  your  faith  be  it 
unto  you.     And  their  eyes  were  opened." 

In  all  these  instances  Jesus  taught,  that  all  blessings  from 
Him  are  proportioned  to  the  faith  of  the  seeker  ;  and  by  tliese 
miracles  He  identified  Himself  with  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  that 
"  Christ  would  give  sight  to  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  and  bear  our 
sicknesses."  And,  notorious  as  the  last  act  was,  He  chai-ged 
them  to  let  no  man  know  it. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  our  Lord  should  have  given 
such  a  charge,  when  His  own  works  were  making  Him  daily 
more  known.  It  may  have  been,  that  He  wanted  them  and  the 
public  to  see  that  He  felt  no  vain  glory  in  His  power,  and  He 
did  not  wish  it  blazoned  as  something  He  was  proud  of;  but  the 
charge  was  disregarded  ! 

And  they  departed,  and  spread  the  report  in  all  the  coun- 
try ;  and  this,  caused  an  influx  of  other  sufferers  ;  and  as  Jesus 
went  on  His  journey,  they  brought  to  Him  a  dumb  man,  pos- 
sessed with  a  devil,  and  He  cast  the  devil  out  and  restored  the 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  109     ■ 

man's  speech.  Thus,  one  miracle  after  anotlier  proved  His  power 
over  all  sin,  and  the  works  and  power  of  the  devil,  and  hninan 
maladies,  and  showed  Him  fulfilling  the  prophecy  of  healing  all 
diseases,  as  things  had  never  been  seen  before  in  Israel,  in  the 
times  of  the  greatest  Prophets;  becanse  their  miracles  were 
chiefly  works  of  power,  done  only  by  calling  on  God  to  work 
them:  His  were  works  of  benevolence,  and  done  by  His  own 
will  and  power  ;  commanding  the  devils  by  His  "  I  say  unto  yon." 
Samuel  had  raised  a  dead  child  to  life,  but  lie  did  it  by  praying 
to  God  to  restore  him;  but  Christ  raised  the  child  by  His  own 
will,  taking  her  by  the  hand. 

And  we  see  liow  critically  His  miracles  were  scrutinized, 
and  liow  impossible  any  deception  could  have  been  on  Christ's 
part,  when  the  Pharisees  were  ever  about  Him  ;  and  their  enmity 
helps  to  confirm  our  faith  in  the  genuineness  of  the  nn racles, 
because  they  admitted  their  power  and  reality,  but  said  He  cast 
out  devils  through  the  prince  of  the  devils;  they  jealously 
watched  our  Lord,  to  detect  any  fault  or  deception,  and  un- 
consciously made  themselves  witnesses  for  Him.  They  had  no 
faith  in  Clirist,  tliey  could  not  deny  the  miracles,  and  tliey  saw 
no  way  for  accounting  for  His  works  of  love  and  merc}^  like 
healing  the  sick,  raising  the  dead,  and  forgiving  sins,  Init  attrib- 
uting tlicm  to  the  power  of  the  devil;  that  unbelief  could  so 
pervert  their  minds,  shows  what  a  perilous  state  it  is  for  the 
limnaa  mind. 

As  Jesus  and  His  disciples  journeyed  on  towards  Jerusalem 
we  calch  only  here  and  tliere  a  glimpse  of  Him  and  His  doings, 
in  the  Gus})cls;  and  no  wonder,  when  St.  John  tells  us  of  His 
contiinial  teacîhing  and  working  of  miracles,  of  which  they  give 
us  only  snatches  or  dim  outlines.  One  incident  is  His  poino- 
through  the  corn  fields — His  disciples  plucked  and  ate  the  grain 
on  the  Sabbath,  and  the  ever  alert  spies  complained  to  Him,  of 
the  violation  of  the  day  ;  and  He  referred  to  what  David  once 


110  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

did  in  i^ivirig  liis  followers  slvew-brcad  from  the  T!il)crna('le, 
which  it  M-;is  lawful  only  for  the  priests  to  eat;  but  lie,  as  "the 
Son  of  Man,  was  Lord  of  the  Sabbath."  Thus  He  turned  their 
complaint  into  a  new  proof  of  His  Messiahship,  and  Divine 
Nature,  because  none  but  God  is  Lord  of  tlie  Sabbath,  or  could 
annul  it  l>y  His  own  act  and  will.  The  Pharisees  followed  and 
M'atclied  Him  for  three  years  to  find  some  fault  in  Him  which 
would  confirm  their  nnbelief^  but  found  no.ic  ;  and  vet,  they  con- 
tinued unbelievinsr. 


4^—     9 


3-*  •-£ 


CHAPTER   XVII^ 


THE  SECOND  PASSOVER. 


Christ  continued  His  journey  toM\ii-cls  Jerusalem,  preaching 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  working  miracles  ;  and  His  teaching 
respecting  the  kingdom  henceforth,  was  prominent.  He  had 
said  but  little  respecting  it  the  first  year,  because  it  implied  the 
uprooting  of  the  old  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  growing  of 
another  on  its  soil;  and  He  could  not  teach  that  without  instant 
opposition,  and  provoking  His  crucifixion.  And  there  was  super- 
human wisdom  in  the  way  He  pursued  His  plan,  until  His 
purposes  were  accomplished. 

The  next  sight  of  Christ,  He  was  at  Jerusalem,  to  attend 
the  second  Passover  ;  and  each  one  was  an  epoch  in  His  public 
life.  There  was,  by  the  sheep-market  a  Pool — called  Bethesda; 
where  the  lame,  and  blind,  and  halt,  and  sick  were  laid  to  wait  a 
miraculous  moving  of  the  water,  at  certain  seasons,  by  an  angel — 
when  whoever  first  stepped  in  was  healed  of  his  infirmity. 

Clirist  went  there  on  the  Sabbath,  and  saw  a  man  who 
had  been  atfiicted  eighteen  years,  waiting  the  moving  of  the 
water,  and  He  asked  hhn,  "Wilt  thou  be  made  whole?''  And 
he  answered,  he  had  no  one  to  put  him  in  the  pool  ;  and  Christ 
said  to  him,  "  Rise,  take  up  thy  bed  and  walk,"  and  he  was 
immediately  restored. 


112  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Tliat  Pool  of  Betliesdn  was  a  type  of  tlie  Fountain,  prophecy 
foretold,  M-ould  be  opened  at  Jerusalem  for  sin  and  uncleanness 
by  Christ;  and  He  showed  the  people  that  an  ano-el  was  not 
needed  to  stir  the  "svater,  because  He  had  come.  Tims  He  weni 
on  giviniç  new  proofs  of  His  Messiahship.  That  lonir  afflicted 
man,  selected  as  the  object  of  Christ's  mercy,  was  weri  known  in 
Jerusalem  ;  and  was  not  restoi-ed  for  an}'  faith  in  Christ,  but  to 
manifest  His  power  to  tlie  Rulers;  and  to  let  the  man  know  that 
his  affliction  was  for  some  temporal  sin.  and  designed  to  make 
him  repent  and  amend  ;  and  he  must  beware  and  sin  no  more, 
lest  a  worse  thing  come  unto  him. 

The  Jews  rebuked  the  man  for  violating  the  Sabbath,  by 
carrying  his  bed.  and  he  said  the  man  who  healed  me  told  me  to 
do  it;  and  they  asked,  "Who  is  He?"  But  the  man  did  not 
know  ;  afterwards  he  saw  Christ  in  the  Temple,  and  told  the 
Jews,  it  Mas  He  ;  and  they  sought  to  kill  IHm.  This  accords 
with  the  bigotry  of  the  Jews,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era,  and  is  another  incidental  proof  of  the  truth  of  the  narrative. 

And  Christ  improved  the  occasion,  to  declare  His  Divine 
nature  and  authority  over  the  Law  :  saying,  "  My  Father  work- 
eth  hitherto,  and  I  work;"  they  perceived  His  claim — that  it 
made  Him  equal  to  God,  and  called  it  blasphemy,  and  sought 
again  to  kill  Him. 

But  He  knew  their  evil  intentions,  and  delivered  His  great 
Discourse  in  the  Temple,  beginning  witli  His  authoritative, 
"Yeril}'',  verily  I  say  unto  you,  the  Son  of  Man  (adopting  the 
Messianic  title  for  Himself)  can  do  nothing  of  Himself,  but 
what  He  seeth  the  Father  do  ;  "  and  He  said  He  could  do  any- 
thing the  Father  did,  because  He  loved  Him,  and  showed  Him  all 
that  He  doeth  ;  and  that  they  would  see  greater  things  than  they 
had  seen, — for  the  Father  could  niise  the  dead,  and  so  could  He  ; 
and  the  Father  had  committed  all  judgment  to  Him  as  the  Son 
of  Man,  that  all   should  honor  Him,  as  they  honor  the  Father; 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  113 

and  not  to  lionor  Ilim,  was  not  to  lionor  the  Father  who  sent 
Him. 

And  then,  as  if  to  leave  them  cxcnsclcss  for  not  l)eliev'mg  in 
Him,  after  the  words  and  deeds  tliey  ]iad  lieard  and  seen,  He 
said,  "  Verily,  verily  I  say  nnto  you,  he  that  hearcth  My  word, 
and  believeth  on  Him  who  sent  Me,  hath  e\  erlasting  life,  and 
shall  not  come  into  condemnation;  but  is  passed  from  death 
unto  life." 

And  again,  "Verily,  verily  I  say  nnto  yon,  the  hour  is  coming, 
and  now  is,  wjien  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
God  ;  and  they  who  hear,  shall  live.  For  as  the  Father  hath 
life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  given  the  Son  to  liaA'c  life  in  Him- 
self.'' And  it  looks  as  if  human  speecli  could  hardly  have 
declared  more  forcibly  the  fact,  that  He  was  and  is  the  incar- 
nate Son  of  God,  possessed  of  the  same  power  and  glory  as  the 
Father. 

But  this  Passover  was  a  great  occasion  in  onr  Lord's  life  ; 
the  Tlulers  of  the  Jews,  and  a  vast  multitude  of  people  were 
present  f i-om  all  Jewry  ;  and  He  poured  forth  other  mysteries 
concerning  Himself,  well  calculated  to  confirm  all  that  He  said 
respecting  His  Divine  origin  and  Messiahship  ;  for  He  continued 
the  Father  hath  given  Him  power,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  to  raise 
the  dead,  and  judge  and  reward  or  punish  all  mankind  for  deeds 
done  here  ;  and  the  deeds  He  was  doing  was  by  the  Father's 
will,  and  they  testilied  that  He  is  the  Christ.  And  He  appealed 
to  John's  witness,  and  to  the  Father's  confession  of  Him  at  His 
btiptism,  as  confirmation  of  His  words  and  works  that  were  from 
Him. 

And  as  a  final  effort,  to  turn  them  from  their  unbelief' and 
evil  intentions  towards  Him,  He  said,  "  Ye  have  not  His  word 
abiding  in  you  ;  for  whom  He  hath  sent,  ye  believe  not."  But 
the}^  quoted  Scripture  against  Christ,  saying,  "Art  Thou  not 
of  Galilee  ?     Search,  and  look  ;  for  out  of  Galilee   ariseth  no 


114  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

prophet."  But  Christ  reproaclied  tlieir  unbelief,  saying,  "  Yon 
indeed  search  the  Scriptures  to  Und  eternal  life  in  them,  and  they 
bear  witness  to  Me  ;  and  yon  will  not  come  to  Me,  that  you  may 
have  that  life.  I  receive  not  lionor  from  men  ;  l)ut  I  know  you, 
that  you  have  not  tlie  love  of  God  in  j'on.''  And  thus  lie 
proved  that  the  Scriptures  they  quoted  condemned  them. 

"  1  come  in  My  Fatlier's  name,  and  ye  receive  Me  not  ;  if 
anutlier  come  in  liis  own  name,  him  ye  wll]  receive.  How  can 
ye  l)elieve,  who  receive  honor  of  one  another,  and  seek  not  the 
honor  that  cometh  from  God  only  ?  •■  1  have  no  need  to  accuse 
you,  for  Moses,  in  whom  you  trust,  condemns  you  :  "  for  had  ye 
believed  Moses,  ye  would  have  believed  Me;  for  he  wrote  of 
Me  ;  but  if  yc  believe  not  his  writings,  how  shall  ye  believe  My 
words  ?  "      ' 

These  incidents  at  tin's  Passover,  at  the  pool,  and  in  the 
Temple,  were  the  fullest  declaration  of  His  Messiahship  He  had 
yet  made  to  convince  tlio  Rulers  of  tlie  Jews  of  His  Divine 
nature,  and  to  arouse  them  from  their  unbelief  ;  and  it  was  such 
an  exercise  of  power  and  revelation  of  mysteries  as  none  but 
God  could  make  ;  and  they  were  declarations  of  the  truth  of 
His  Messiahship,  grounded  on  His  veracity  as  the  Christ.  Yet 
with  Divine  humility  He  confessed  He  could  do  nothing  without 
the  Father,  and  that  He  was  not  seeking  His  own  glory,  but 
their  salvation  who  were  plotting  to  kill  Him. 

And  although  for  two  years  the  Jews  continued  their  inten- 
tions to  nun-der  Him,  there  was  the  continuous  miracle,  that  they 
could  not  until  He  was  ready  to  deliver  Himself  to  their  power 
wlien  He  did  ;  while  He  went  about  increasing  the  wonders  of 
His  words  and  woi'ks  all  that  time  ;  and  that  was  evidence  to 
them,  as  it  was  intended  to  be  to  all  future  generations,  of  His 
Messialisliip. 

Nevertheless,  none  of  Christ's  doctrines  were  novelties;  tliey 
were  the  development  of  truths  di ndy  revealed  to  former  gene- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  115 

rations,  and  imperfectly  transmitted  by  tradition,  which  lie 
brought  to  light,  and  enforced  as  new  motives  for  men  to  believe 
in  God,  to  love  and  obey  Him.  No  similar  discourse,  and  no 
such  miracles  wei'e  ever  said  and  done  ])y  any  other  man  ;  and  all 
mankind  knew  of  God  and  man's  future  eternal  life,  from  all  the 
prophets,  was  nothing  in  comparison  with  what  Christ  revealed. 

What  more  Christ  said  and  did  at  the  Passover,  Ik.-w  long 
Hei-emained  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  what  direction  He  went — going 
from  it — are  not  related  ;  but  He  left  behind  Him  truths  enough 
to  convince  any  honest  mind,  that  He  was  the  Christ  of  God,  and 
Himself  "  very  God  of  very  God." 

Three  Evangelists  agree,  that  Christ's  next  public  teaching 
was  in  the  Synagogue  at  Capernaum,  on  the  Sabbath,  and  there 
restoi  ing  a  man's  withered  hand  ;  and  the  ever  watchful  Phari- 
sees were  present,  and  were  full  of  wrath,  because  He  heahxl 
the  man  on  the  Sabbath;  and  He  asked  them,  "Is  it  lawful  to 
do  good  on  the  Sabbath  ?  "  but  they  held  their  peace,  and  took 
counsel  with  the  Herodians,  whom  they  hated  as  friends  of  the 
Ilomans  ;  but  hoped  to  use  to  accuse  Chi  ist  to  the  Romans  as  dis- 
loyal to  them,  and  so  have  Him  executed  ;  but  He  withdrew  to 
the  Sea  of  Galilee,  followed  by  multitudes  from  Galilee  and  Jn- 
dea,  Jerusalem,  Idumea,  beyond  Jordan,  and  from  Tyre  and  Sidon. 

What  a  vivid  picture  that  is  of  the  scenes  occuring  nineteen 
centuries  ago  ?  What  a  confirmation  of  its  truth  it  is,  that  these 
towns  and  places  ai-e  named,  whence  tlie  people  came  to  Chi-ist  ? 
How  easily  the  narrative  could  have  been  proven  false,  if  it  were 
not  true?  Civil  liistory  says:  Scribes,  Pharisees,  and  Herodians 
then  lived  in  Palestine,  and  held  relations  as  there  described. 
We  almost  sec,  through  these  by-gone  centuries,  Christ  standing 
there  before  those  hypocrites — calm  and  self-possessed — and  they 
quailing  before  His  divine  majesty,  silenced  by  His  logic,  but  re- 
fusing to  believe  in  Him,  and  powerless  to  find  any  fault  in 
Him,  or  to  kill  Him. 


116  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

That  iimltitucle  that  followed  Christ  to  the  sea,  shon-s  liow 
His  fame  was  increasing  among  the  peoj)le,  which  furtlier  pro- 
voked the  inimical  Pharisees,  who  had  followe<i  in  the  throng  ; 
and  when  He  restored  a  man  possessed  of  a  devil,  and  deaf, 
(hmdj  and  blind  which  amazed  the  people  ;  and  they  asked  :  "  Is 
not  this  the  son  of  David  ?  "  And  the  angry  Pharisees  seemed 
to  have  answered  the  qnestion,  Ijy  saying,  "that  He  wrought  the 
miracle  by  the  power  of  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils."  And 
this  caused  another  of  the  remarkable  discourses  of  Christ,  which 
shows  how  superior  His  wisdom,  knowledge  and  logic  were  to 
tlie  shrewdest  and  most  cultivated  men  of  the  age  ;  and  that,  in 
whatever  way  they  attacked  Him,  the}"  were  confused  and 
tilenced,  and  their  oppot-ition  used  to  reveal  some  new  mystery 
of  His  divine  knowledge  or  power.  And  He  told  His  enemies, 
if  He  worked  by  Satan's  power,  He  was  working  against,  and 
not  for  him  ;  but  if  He  cast  out  devils  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
the  kingdom  of  God  liad  come  to  them.  And  He  warned  them 
that  the  blasphemy  they  wei'e  speaking  was  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  for  which  there  is  no  forgiveness  here,  nor  in  the  life  to 
come  ;  and  that  at  the  judgment,  they  must  give  an  account  not 
only  of  their  evil  works,  but  also  of  their  idle  words. 

That  was  a  new  revelation  of  the  nature  of  sin,  which  none 
but  God  could  know.  They  might  insult  Him  with  impunity, 
as  the  son  of  Man,  but  to  attribute  His  power  as  the  Son  of  God 
to  Satan,  was  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  unpardonal»le.  It 
has  been  urged  from  this  saying  of  Christ,  that  some  sins  not 
pardoned  here,  will  be  at  the  judgment;  but  it  meant  no  such 
thing,  but  on  the  contrary, — that  neither  that  sin,  not  any  other 
unrcipented  one,  will  then  be  forgiven. 

And  there  was  a  pungency  in  the  question  to  the  Pharisees, 
'•  By  whom  do  y^ur  sons  cast  out  devils  ?  "  Because  it  referred 
to  the  exorcism  of  the  Prophets,  effected  by  power  given  them 
from  God;  and  if  none  but  God  could  cast  them  out,  so  also, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  117 

must  it  be  1>y  His  power  tliat  He  cast  tliem  out;  and  tins  was 
proof  to  tliem  that  He  was  tlie  Son  of  God,  since  He  was  doini;' 
the  works  of  God  ;  and  this  was  proof  to  them  tliat  He  liad 
come  to  destroy  Satanés  kingdom,  because  He  could  c;?st  them 
out  of  men. 

Christ's  holy  indignation  was  aroused  by  the  blaspliemy  of 
the  Pharisees,  and  He  called  them  "  a  generation  of  vipers,  l)e- 
cause  their  hearts  were  evil  ;"  and  there  is  majesty  and  sublimitv 
in  this  Gospel  picture,  in  this  carpenter  of  Nazareth, — as  His 
enemies  looked  on  Him — standing  before  the  multitude  unmoved 
by  their  wrath,  telling  them  He  knew  their  hearts,  giving  them 
proofs  of  His  power  over  them,  as  well  as  the  devils,  and  yet 
mercifully  warning  them  against  the  awful  condemnation  to 
winch  their  unbelief  would  bring  them.  And  in  these  ways.  He 
showed  them  how  much  more  He  knew  of  God,  and  future 
worlds,  and  man's  destiny  tliere  than  they  did;  and  more,  even, 
than  they  knew  of  their  future  life  and  destiny  on  earth. 

The  Pharisees  saw  this  application  of  Christ's  words  to 
lliem,  and  though  provoked  wei-e  unal)ashed,  l)y  the  way  in 
which  He  had  silenced  them  ;  and  they  returned  to  attack  Hiin 
again,  saying,  "Master,  we  would  see  a  sign  from  Thee."  They 
did  not  call  Him  Lord,  and  the  Master  was  probably  intended  as 
mockery,  because  their  unbelief  was  unshaken.  They  had  found 
Him  too  nnich  for  them  in  argument,  and  proposed  to  refute  His 
claim,  by  testing  His  power  to  do  a  miracle  at  their  request. 

Jesus  called  tliem  an  evil  and  adulterous  generation,  and  re- 
fused them  any  sign  except  that  of  the  miracle  of  Jonah,  tln-ee 
days  and  nights  in  tlie  whale,  and  said  it  was  a  type  or  prophecv 
of  the  burial  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  the  earth  for  three  days  and 
nights.  Thus,  long  before  the  event,  did  He  foretell  this  pai-- 
ticular  of  His  own  burial,  as  well  as  explain  the  type  of  Jontdi. 
History  confirms  what  He  said  of  that  generation  ;  and  He  re- 
mained "Master"  of  the  situation,  as  they  called  Him;  for  He 


118  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

confoniulecl  tlieni  a^ain  by  that  mj'sterious  type  of  Himself  aa 
Ho  (lid  before  by  His  knowljtlge  and  logic;  and  yet,  as  if  reluct- 
ant to  leave  them  in  their  unbelief,  He  delivered  another  solemn 
■warning  to  the  Avhole  nation. 

Declaring  to  them,  that,  in  the  Judgment,  the  men  of  JSine- 
vah  and  the  Queen  of  the  South  Avill  condemn  them — because  the 
one  repented  at  the  preaching  of  Jonah,  and  the  other  came  from 
far  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  and  "  behold  a  greater  than 
Solomon  is  here," 

And  He  warned  them  of  the  peril  of  hardening  their  hearts, 
and  falling  into  unbelief  and  sin,  after  being  in  God's  coveiiant  ; 
because  they  made  themselves  seven-fold  more  the  children  of 
the  devil  than  they  were  before,  and  the  last  state  of  such  a  man 
is  worse  than  the  first  ;  and  so  would  it  be  with  this  wicked  gene- 
ration. 

After  this  scene,  Christ  appears  to  have  made  another  par- 
tial circuit  of  Galilee,  and  then  returned  to  the  Sea  of  Galilee, 
where  the  people  thronged  to  hear  and  see  Him,  and  where  He 
did  many  mighty  works,  charging  the  persons  healed  not  to  make 
Him  known,  which,  it  is  probable,  besides  the  reasons  already 
given  for  imposing  silence,  was  also  to  show  that  the  prophecy 
was  fulfilled  in  Him,  "  neither  shall  any  man  hear  His  voice  in 
the  streets," — that  is,  seeking  His  own  praise,  or  desiring  fame 
of  ma;i. 

Being  again  in  the  house  at  Capernaum,  He  was  told  Hia 
mother  and  brethren  desired  to  speak  to  Him.  And  He  asked, 
"Who  is  My  Mother?  And  who  are  My  brethren  ?  For  who. 
soever  shall  do  the  will  of  My  Father  Who  is  in  Heaven,  the 
same  is  My  brother,  and  sister,  and  mother  ;  "  and  so,  He  again 
warned  His  disciples  against  any  undue  reverence  for  her,  which 
might  lead  to  idolatry. 


CHAPTER    XYIII. 


THE  TWELVE  APOSTLES  CALLED. 


The  plan  on  which  the  Gospels  were  written  gives  intcrnn,! 
evidence  of  supernatiu-al  M'isdom  ;  lor  the  narrative  is  niore  con- 
clusive than  it  would  have  been  if  written  chronologically,  and 
as  men  commonly  write:  it  presents  ch.aracteristic  incidents  of 
the  men,  times  and  places,  and  of  particular  events;  and  details 
of  passing  scenes,  apparently  trivial  and  unimportant  to  that 
generation  and  country,  which  give  a  better  idea  and  view  of 
the  epoch  than  any  general  description  could  ;  and  there  is  no 
other  history  of  any  age  of  the  world,  in  which  we  can  see  into 
the  hearts  of  men,  their  modes  of  thouiiht,  knowledge,  and  homes 
as  in  the  Gospels. 

Our  Lord,  having  now  made  several  journeys  through  the 
cities  and  villages  teaching  the  people  and  working  miracles, 
a7id  having  publicly  declared  Himself  as  the  Christ  to  His 
townsmen  in  Nazareth,  and  to  the  Eulers  of  the  Jews  in  the 
Temple,  to  the  people  of  Samaria,  to  the  Elders  in  the  Syna- 
gogues, to  the  Scribes,  Pharisees,  and  Herodians,  and  kindled  up 
a  light  in  the  darkened  Galilee,  which  shined  throughout  all  the 
Holy  Lt^nd,  and  created  the  general  expectation  that  He  was  the 
Christ;  rmd  having  given  the  credentials  to  prove  Himself  the 
Messiah   of  prophecy,  finding   the   Held  widening  and  whitchiug 


120  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

for  harvest,  and  requii'ing  more  lal)orers,  next  proceeded  to  exer- 
cise His  Pi-iestly  and  Regal  power  in  choosing  twelve  Apostle», 
on  whom  lie  would  lay  tlio  foundations  of  His  kingdom,  and  its 
rulers. 

"  When  He  saw  the  nniltitudes.  He  was  moved  with  com- 
passion for  tliem,  because  the}'  fainted,  Jind  were  scattered  abroad, 
as  sheep  having  )io  shepherd.  Then  said  He  nnto  His  disciples, 
the  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  laborei-s  are  few  ;  pray  ye 
therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  He  will  send  forth  laborers 
into  His  harvest." 

He  had  given  them  a  prayer  a  year  before,  to  pray  for  His 
Kingdom  to  come  ;  and  now  they  must  pray  for  laborers,  as  if  the 
time  of  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  was  drawing  near.  And  we 
see  infinite  wisdom  in  this  plan  of  gradual  development  of  the 
tremendous  changes  He  had  come  to  make,  in  changing  the 
Levitical  Priesthood  to  the  Christian,  tlie  sacrifices  of  the  Jewish. 
Church  to  the  Sacraments  of  the  Christian,  and  the  whole  cere- 
monial worship,  hallowed  by  tlie  associations  of  fifteen  centuries, 
to  the  Liturgual  worship  in  spirit  and  truth  He  would  institute 
for  His  kingdom,  the  Christian  Churcli. 

Aiid  it  came  to  pass  in,those  days,  that  He  went  out  into  a 
mountain  to  pray;  and  continued  all  night  in  prayer  to  God. 

After  a  day  of  wearisome  labor  in  travelling,  teaching,  and 
working  miracles  by  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  our  Lord  went  to  a 
mountain  alone,  probably  the  same  one  from  which  He  delivered 
His  introductory  sermon,  and  spent  the  night  in  prayer.  He 
was  about  to  begin  one  of  the  most  important  acts  of  His  minis- 
try, which  looked  I'evolutionary,  or  tending  to  a  Eeformation  of 
the  old  kingdom  of  God,  its  Rulers,  and  ceremonial  ;  for  St. 
Paul  says:  the  Priesthood  being  changed,  there  was  made  of 
necessity  a  change  of  the  Law;  so  He  went  to  the  heavenly 
f'ather  for  wisdom  and  guidance,  because  Lie  came  to  do  His 
■will. 


X  LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  lil 

This  picture  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  tlie  Son  of  Man,  alone 
in  the  solitude  of  night  in  the  mountain  wilderness,  to  ask  coun- 
sel of  tlie  Father,  before  He  choose  the  Apostles  who  were  to 
govern  His  kingdom,  when  His  work  was  done,  was  evidently 
repeated  to  identify  Himself  as  the  Prophet,  foretold  by  Moses  ; 
like  unto  himself,  who  went  alone  into  Mt.  Sinai,  to  receive  the 
Law  and  authority  from  God,  to  consecrate  the  Levitical  Priest- 
hood, and  to  set  up  the  tabernacle,  and  organize  the  old  kingdom 
of  God. 

The  next  morning  when  He  came  down  from  the  Mount, 
multitudes  were  assembled  waiting  for  Him;  and  from  them  He 
chose  twelve  Apostles  whom  He  empowered  to  teach  and  work 
miracles.  They  were  only  called  to  the  Priesthood  then,  but 
liad  no  power  to  ordain  other  persons  ;  as  the  great  Higli  Priest, 
our  Lord  reserved  this  power  in  Himself,  until  after  His  resur- 
rection. This  was  tlie  transition  epoch,  when  old  things  wei'e 
passing  away  ;  but  the  number  twelve  was  chosen,  to  fulfill  the 
type  of  the  twelve  foundations  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  in  the 
Heads  of  the  twelve  tribes.  The  whole  kingdom  of  God  was 
then  in  Christ,  as  a  germ  in  a  seed  ;  and  out  of  Him  came  its 
Priesthood,  and  Holy  Catholic  Church,  which  »was  finally  or- 
ganized after  His  ascension  to  Heaven,  and  through  whose  sac- 
raments every  member  since  received  his  spiritual  life. 

Before  noticing  the  twelve  men  chosen  by  our  Lord,  let  us 
look  for  a  moment  at  the  character  of  the  Master,  who  had  been 
long  enough  before  the  world  for  men  to  form  an  opinion  of 
Him, — as  it  appeared  then  from  wdiat  had  already  transpired, 
after  He  left  Nazareth  where  His  life  was  so  long  hidden. 

His  character  appeared  to  be  superhuman,  for  He  had 
neither  human  ambition,  pride,  nor  vanity;  it  looks  now  super- 
human,— because  no  one  since  has  lived  such  a  life  as  a  man,  look- 
ing only  at  His  human  side  ;  but  it  was  only  an  example  of 
perfect  manhood,  the  likeness  in  which  God  created  tlie  first 


122  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Adam,  but  wliich  he  lost  by  Sin.  There  was  perfect  common 
sense  in  all  He  said  and  did,  and  perfect  holiness  of  life  ;  His 
enemies  accused  Him  of  being  in  league  with  the  devil,  not  be- 
cause He  did  any  evil  devil  work,  but  l>ecause  He  cast  devils 
out,  and  restrained  their  power  to  do  evil;  and  His  humility 
was  as  grand  as  His  power;  and  He  had  such  fertility  and 
readiness  of  speech  and  perception,  that  He  was  Master  of  every 
occasion  and  situation  into  which  He  had  come,  or  been  driven 
by  His  enemies.  He  was  so  exalted  above  this  world — that  insults, 
injuries,  or  blasphemy,  gave  Him  no  personal  pain  or  distress; 
these  things  passed  over  Him  like  soft  clouds  over  a  summer 
sky. 

He  had  done  nothing  to  excite  the^  adulation  or  admiration 
of  men  ;  He  had  never  made  an  error  in  judgment,  nor  spoken 
a  word  which  was  found  untrue.  Sincerity  and  infallibility  char- 
acterized everything  He  said  and  did.  His  great  spirit  was  stirred 
to  its  Divine  depths,  by  the  M'orld's  wickedness;  but  His  innate 
refinement  prevented  Him  from  reljuking  it  with  any  more  se- 
verity than  its  infinite  need  required.  The  soil  of  the  old  decayed 
world's  civilization  was  prepared  to  receive  His  doctrines,  and  He 
gave  a  new  movement  to  the  thought  of  the  age, — which  was  not 
only  to  raise  society  to  a  higher  social,  civil,  and  religious  condi- 
tion, but  to  open  the  way  to  a  deeper  knowledge  of  the  Laws  of 
Nature  ;  and  the  momentum  has  increased,  contrary  to  all  the  laws 
of  physical  forces,  in  proportion  to  the  time  and  distance  of  its 
removal  :  until  it  has  turned  the  darkness  of  Pagandom  into  the 
noon-tide  light  of  Christendom,  the  water  of  time  into  the  wine 
of  eternity,  and  opened  new  views  of  God's  love  and  mercy — 
which  have  been  increasing  and  spreading  among  the  nations 
from  His  day  to  our  own. 

"And  when  it  was  day.  He  called  His  disciples;  and  of  them 
He  choose  twelve,  Avhom  also  He  named  Apostles."  An  Apostle 
is  one  sent  by  another;  and  St.  Paul  calls  Christ  "  the  Apostle  and 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  123 

High  Priest  of  our  profession,"  because  He  was  sent  from  God  : 
and  lie  named  the  Apostles  He  chose  after  Himself;  because  tliey 
were,  at  His  death,  to  succeed  to  His  office  as  Apostle  and  High 
Priest,  over  His  Kingdom  or  Church.  He  M'as  now  about  to  send 
them  out,  two  by  two,  empowered  with  Priestly  functions  to 
tea(;h,  baptize,  and  work  miracles;  but  they  had  no  consecration 
by  the  laying  on  of  His  hands,  or  by  the  descent  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  on  them,  but  by  His  own  will  He  gave  them  power  to  act 
as  co-lal)orers  with  Him. 

The  names  of  the  Apostles  are,  "  The  first  Simon,  wliom 
our  Lord  named  Peter,  and  Andrew  his  lirother  ;  James,  the  son 
of  Zebedee,  and  John  his  brother,  whom  our  Lord  called  '  Sons 
of  Thunder;'  Philip,  and  Nathaniel  whom  Christ  named  Bar- 
tholomew; Thomas  and  Matthew  the  Publican;  James,  the  son 
of  Alpheus  ;  and  Lebbeus,  whose  surname  was  Thaddeus  ;  Simon 
the  Canaanite  ;  and  Judas  Iscariot,  who  betrayed  Him. 

These  twelve  Christ  sent  forth,  after  He  had  further  instruct- 
ed tliem,  charging  them  not  to  go  to  Gentiles,  or  Samai-itans,  but 
to  God's  own  people  first  ;  they  were  to  make  no  provision  for 
their  journey,  to  trust  to  the  hospitality  of  the  people  for  their 
support,  to  teach,  work  miracles,  and  preach  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  at  hand.  And  He  forewarned  them  how  the  Gospel 
would  be  received,  and  themselves  persecuted;  and  that  whoever 
received  them  would  receive  Him,  and  that  neither  they  nor 
those  who  ministered  to  them  would  in  any  wise  lose  their  re- 
ward. 

At  that  time,  when  Christ  came  down  from  the  mountain, 
there  was  a  gi*eat  multitude  waiting  for  Him — from  all  Judea, 
and  Jerusalem,  and  Tyre,  and  Sidon  ;  and  working  many  mira- 
cles. He  also  delivered  to  them  another  discourse,  an  epitome 
apparently  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  charging  them  to  labor 
and  suffer,  and  endure  for  His  sake,  so  should  their  reward  be 
great  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.     This  was  another  new  de- 


134  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

parture  from  Jiulaism  ;  tlie  Law  promised  temporal  rewards 
for  obedience  ;  but  notliing  was  said  of  tliem  as  a  motive  for 
suffering  for  righteousness' sake  ;  l)ut  the  new  ghid  tidings  was 
eternal  rewards  in  Heaven.  And  He  pronounced  a  woe  on  the 
rich  and  worldy  now,  because  hereafter  they  would  weep  and 
mourn  ;  and  "  a  woe,  when  all  rnen  shall  speak  well  of  you. 
For  so  did  theii-  fathers  to  the  false  prophets." 

Til  is  was  another  of  our  Lord's  characteristic  discourses,  en- 
forced by  His  Divine  "  I  SAY  unto  you,"  in  which  He  repeated 
many  of  the  doctrines  and  duties  delivered  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  a  synopsis  ot"  the  principles  which  must  govern  all  the 
members  of  His  kingdom  in  their  relations  to  God  and  man;  and 
M'hich  was  really  only  an  interpretation  of  the  spirituality  of  the 
law,  wliich  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  had  over-ridden  by  their 
traditions,  but  which  Lie  now  restored  to  their  original  place. 
For  the  principles  of  true  religion  are  unchangab^e,  and  have  al- 
ways been  the  same;  because  a  thousand  years  before  Christ  the 
Brahmins  of  the  East,  who  had  perserved  the  principles  of  true 
religion  l)y  tradition,  though  they  had  lost  the  Priesthood  and 
Ritual  of  the  ancient  Chur(di,  taught  them,  as  they  have  con- 
tinued to  do  in  parts  of  the  British  Empire  in  the  East,  Mhere 
they  have  neither  Christianity  nor  science  ;  that  to  be  hapi»y  and 
please  their  God,  men  must  be  self-denying,  moral,  truthful, 
honest,  o1)edient  to,  parents  and  to  reverence  the  aged,  and  be 
faithful  to  marriage  v<.)ws. 

Jesus  taught  them  to  forgive  enemies,  bless  those  who 
cursed, — the  hardest  of  duties,  done  perfectly  only  by  God,  MJiich 
He  daily  manifested  in  Llis  example, — and  in  this  way  sliowed 
Llis  Messiahship  ;  and  they  must  expect  forgiveness  from  God, 
exactly  as  they  exercised  it  to  their  fellow  men  ;  and  they  must 
do  good  without  hope  of  reward,  but  from  God.  And  wjiat 
inconsistency  and  hypocrisy  there  would  have  been  in  all  this, 
were  He  not  the  Christ  ;  and  what  proof  it  now  is  to  the  world 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  125 

that  He  was  the  Christ.  For  wliere  could  this  young  man — a 
pupil  of  no  Kablji,  a  grailnate  of  no  school, — have  acquired  this 
superhuman  knowledge  and  wisdom  so  much  in  advance  of  the 
learned  Doctors  of  the  Law  ?  How  did  He  know  so  much  more 
of  God  than  that  generation,  which  human  experience  has  ever 
since  been  conlirming  ?  AVhiie  the  whole  drift  of  His  teaching 
was  directly  opposed  to  the  Spirit  of  the  age,  not  only  of  His 
own  nation,  but  to  the  general  practice  of  the  wdiole  world.  How 
could  He,  then,  have  been  so  much  superior  to  all  other  men, 
who  lived  before  or  since, — unless  He  were,  as  He  claimed  to  be, 
the  Incarnate  Son  of  God  ? 

But  little  is  known  of  the  history  of  the  twelve  Apostles  after 
our  Lord's  death  ;  St.  James,  the  Bishop  of  Jerusalem  and  author 
of  the  Epistle  with  his  name,  was  our  Lord's  first  martyred 
Apostle,  slain  by  Herod  at  Jerusalem,  A.D.  44;  of  James  the 
Less,  little  is  known  ;  S.  S.  Peter,  James  and  John  Avere  favorites 
of  Christ,  and  were  chosen  to  witness  His  transfiguration  and 
agony  in  the  garden,  and  were  the  first  to  w^hom  He  showed 
Himself  after  His  resurrection;  Matthew  and  John  were  the 
only  Apostles  who  wrote  an  account  of  His  ministry,  S.  S.  Peter, 
James  and  Jude  wrote  Epistles;  St.  John  wrote  Revelation  and 
was  beloved  by  Christ,  and  St.  Peter  most  loved  Him;  St. 
Bartholomew  probably  suffered  death  in  India;  and  St.  Peter  at 
Babylon,  for  there  is  ilo  evidence  that  he  was  ever  in  Rome:  but 
on  the  contrai-y,  St.  Paul  "wrote  an  Epistle  to  the  Cliurch  there, 
and  speaks  of  two  Apostles  there,  older  in  the  ministry  than  him- 
self (Rom.  xvi  :  7);  and  he  would  no  more  have  written  such  an 
Epistle  to  the  Roman  Church  had  St.  Peter  been  there,  than  a 
Bishop  now  would  send  a  Pastoral  to  a  neighboring  Bishop's 
Diocese.  The  Gospel  tells  us  something  more  of  their  characters, 
as  will  be  seen  further  on  ;  but  they  all  did  their  work,  and  laid 
down  their  lives  for  the  truth  and  defence  of  His  Gospel  ;  and  the 
works  and  fiijlds  of  labor  of  a  majority  of  them  are  unknown; 


126 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST 


wliile  tlio  nnbL'lief  of  Thomas  is  one  of  the  best  proofs  of  our 
Lord's  Divinity,  as  the  betrayal  of  Judas  is  that  He  is  the 
Christ;  and  each,  in  their  way,  died  for  the  c-onfirination  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  are  yet  witnesses  to  the  world's  ends 
for  His  ininistr}',  Gospel,  and  Cluirch;  while  Judas,  the  betrayer, 
is  a  self  Martyr-witness  for  Christ's  divinity. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


OUR  LORD'S  PARABLE'S. 


Christ  retained  the  Apostles  with  Him  for  a  time  after  they 
were  chosen,  to  further  instruct  them,  hefore  He  sent  them  two 
by  two,  to  preach  the  kingdom  themselves  ;  and  as  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Apostles  on  whom  the  kingdom  was  to  be  founded, 
looked  like  an  organic  beginning,  there  was  a  necessity  for  con- 
ceahnent,  and  from  that  time  He  taught  them  chiefly  in  Para- 
bles ;  and  what  He  said  in  public,  wdiich  they  did  not  understand 
He  privately  explained  to  them. 

Parables  were  nsed  long  before  Christ,  to  give  instruction 
by  the  analogies  of  familiar  natural  objects;  the  Hebrew  word 
is  the  same  as  proverb,  which  is  commonly  more  obscure;  the 
prophets  spake  parables,  but  not  like  Christ's, — because  He  re- 
vealed heavenly  and  spiritual  truths  by  earthly  analogies;  things 
which  God  only  knew,  and  so  were  evidences  of  His  Divine  na- 
ture. 

And  He  used  the  whole  visible  world,  with  all  its  panorama 
of  changing  seasons,  its  governments,  its  agriculture,  its  myste- 
ries of  life  and  death,  as  well  as  its  invisible  forces,  to  teacîh 
spiritual  truth  ;  and  to  help  His  disciples  comprehend  the  higher 
mysteries  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  the  relations  of  God's  two 
great  kingdoms  of  nature  and  of  grace.  And  His  great  under- 
lying aim  see:ns  to  have  been,  besides  instructing  them  in  their 


128  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

duties,  to  convince  them  that  lie  was  God  manifest  in  a  liuman 
nature,  to  accomplisli  the  Fatlier's  phms  of  love  and  mercy  for 
His  cliildren  of  men.  And  in  no  instance  did  He  ever  trans- 
gress the  order  of  nature,  as  it  is  now  revealed  to  us  l;y  modern 
science,  while  using-  its  mysteries  to  illustrate  the  higher  spiritual 
truths.  He  showed  that  both  kingdoms  have  common  laws  and 
mysteries,  that  evince  a  common  origin;  and  are  the  product  of  a 
good,  and  loving,  and  Holy  God,  and  are  under  His  inniicdiate 
control. 

All  Christ's  parables  are  gems  of  Divine  wisdom,  and  pro- 
phetical prescience  of  the  coming  power  of  His  kingdom,  ex- 
pressed with  wonderful  beauty,  and  showing  a  perfect  knowledge 
of  the  mysterious  analogies  of  earthly  and  heavenly  things. 

AVe  know  not  when,  or  where,  most  of  them  were  spoken; 
l)ut  they  relate  chiefly  to  His  kingdom,  which  most  engrossed 
His  mind,  as  His  own  mission  was  drawing  to  its  end.  And 
there  is  apparent  in  them,  that  which  is  observable  in  all  His 
teachings,  a  gradually  ascending  scale  of  Divine  truth;  the  flrst 
one,  was  of  the  Blind  leading  the  Blind. 

That  was  evidently  a  rebuke  to  the  Pharisees,  for  their  false 
teaching  and  misleading  the  people,  and  their  watching  to  find 
some  evil  in  Him,  which  proceeded  from  their  corrupt  hearts. 
He  said  a  good  man  bringeth  iovûi  good  treasures  from  a  good 
heart, — so  the  people  might  compare  His  teaching  and  theirs,  and 
judge  which  were  best;  and  He  reproved  others  for  calling  Him 
Lord,  and  yet  not  doing  as  He  said  ;  and  assured  them,  that  who- 
ever obeyed  His  instruction  would  be  like  a  man  who  built  his 
house  on  a  rock,  which  no  inundation  coidd  sweep  away.  And 
the  reference  to  building  on  the  Rock,  was  on  faith  in  Him  ;  and 
a  referem^e  to  the  Prophecy  by  Isaiah,  respecting  I'hc  Messiah, 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  Behold,  I  lay  in  Ziun  for  a  founda- 
tion Stone,  a  tried  stu:ie,  a  sui'c  foundation;  he  that  believeth 
shall  not  make  haste  !  " 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  129 

It  looks  as  if  our  Lord,  leavins;  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  journeyed 
towards  Nain,  a  town  al)out  twenty-iive  miles  from  Capernaum, 
followed  by  His  disciples  and  a  nanltitude  of  people;  and  as  He 
was  entering  the  town,  a  dead  man,  the  son  of  a  widow,  was 
carried  to  burial;  and  He  had  compassion  on  the  motlier,  told 
her  not  to  weep,  touched  the  bier,  and  said,  "  Young  man,  I  say 
unto  thee,  arise,"  and  he  sat  up  and  began  to  speak  ;  and  He  de- 
livered liim  to  liis  mother.  And  fear  came  on  all,  and  they  glo- 
rified God,  and  said  a  great  prophet  is  risen,  and  God  hath  vis- 
ited His  people  ;  and  the  fame  of  it  spread  througli  all  Judea, 
and  the  neighl)oring  region. 

No  one  aslced  Christ  to  raise  the  dead  man, — it  was  His  com- 
passion for  tlie  desolate  mother,  and  to  show  the  people  His 
power  over  the  kingdom  of  the  dead;  the  first  year  of  His  min- 
istry. He  raised  the  Iluler's  daughter,  at  the  father's  request,  in 
the  house  before  a  few  witnesses;  this  second  year  He  raised  the 
man  publicly  before  a  multitude,  and  manifested  His  power  in  an 
ascending  scale. 

From  Nain  Christ  and  the  Apostles,  followed  by  many  peo- 
ple, went  through  the  towns,  villages,  and  country,  preaching 
the  glad  tidings  of  the  coming  Kingdom  of  God,  and  Jiealing 
all  manner  of  sickness;  thus  identifying  Himself  w4th  Isaiaii's 
prophecy,  as  "  the  Lord  wlio  liealeth  all  thy  diseases,"  and  hath 
"  born  our  griefs  and  carried  cur  sorrows.''  And  the  uppermost 
theme  in  His  mind  and  teaching  was  the  Kingdom,  as  the  result 
of  His  incarnation  and  death,  which  was  to  carry  on  His  work  of 
salvation,  and  prepare  the  world  for  His  second  advent. 

"  When  much  people  had  gathered  together,  and  came  to 
Him  out  of  every  city,"  He  spake  tlie  Parable  of  the  sower, 
"  whose  seed  fell  on  the  way  side,  and  was  trodden  down,  and  de- 
voured by  birds  ;  and  on  the  rock,  and  withered  from  lack  of 
moisture  :  and  among  thorns,  and  was  choked  by  them  ;  and  on 
the  good  ground,  and  prodnced  an  hundred  fold." 


130  LIFEOFCHRIST. 

The  disciples  asked  what  the  Parable  meant?  and  He  said, 
"  it  was  given  them  to  know  the  mysteries  of  the  KingJoin  of  God, 
but  not  to  alL"  Not  because  He  did  not  wish  all  to  l)elieve  and 
be  saved,  Ijut  because  of  their  unbelief;  and  if  they  understood 
tliat  He  Avas  about  to  transfer  the  old  Kingdom  of  God  to  it, 
they  would  have  arrested  Him  as  a  i-evolutionist,  before  His 
preparations  were  completed.  Then  He  privately  explained  the 
Parable  to  the  Apostles. 

Seed  is  a  type  of  God's  Word,  or  gracie;  and  the  different 
places  where  it  fell,  of  the  way  it  would  be  received  by  men  ; 
— that  in  the  good  ground  would  be  in  His  kingdom;  the  tares,  or 
thorns,  represented  the'  mixed  ;  visible  aspect  of  the  kingdom 
which  will  continne  until  the  world's  end.  And  He  said,  that 
the  prophecy  of  Isaiah  was  fulfilled  in  the  rulers  of  the  Jews  ;  and 
they  had  closed  their  eyes,  and  hardened  their  hearts,  lest  they 
should  be  converted,  and  He  heal  them.  And  turning  to  the 
Apostles,  He  said,  "  Blessed  are  your  eyes,  for  they  see  ;  and 
jowr  ears,  for  they  hear.  For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  many 
prophets  and  righteous  men  have  desired  to  see  and  hear  the 
things  which  ye  see  and  hear,  and  have  not  seen  or  heard  them." 

All  this  Ciirist  foretold,  that  the  Apostles  might  not  be  dis- 
couraged, when  they  saw  how  little  apparent  good  their  teaching 
produced;  and  also  that  future  generations  might  believe  in  Him 
as  the  Christ,  because  He  foretold  what  none  but  God  could  fore- 
know. And  it  is  true  to  this  day,  that  there  have  always  been 
these  four  classes  of  hearers, — no  more  and  no  less;  and  the  result 
of  their  hearing  is  now,  exactly  as  He  predicated  in  the  Parable. 

And  in  calling  tlie  Seed  the  Word  of  God,  there  was  a  subtle 
reference  as  to  the  way  He  was  received;  because  it  was  one  of 
His  titles  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  He  was  both  the 
Sower,  and  the  Seed;  He  sowed  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom 
of  God,  its  foundations,  and  sacraments,  which  give  His  right- 
eousness and  eternal  life, — "and  whosoever  hath,  to  him  shall  be 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  131 

given  ;  and  wliosoevcr  h;itli  not,  from  liim  shall  be  taken  even 
that  which  he  seemeth  to  have;"  teaching  the  importance  of  cul- 
tivating tlie  Divine  grace  after  it  is  received.  And  so  we  see  a 
perfect  consistency  in  Christ's  life  and  teachings  ;  He  came  to 
give  His  life  to  call  sinners  to  repent,  and  be  saved. 

The  Parable  of  the  Sower,  was  followed  by  that  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  which  He  said  would  be  like  seed  sown  in  the 
ground  that  grows  day  and  night,  that  brings  forth  first  a  blade 
and  then  an  ear,  and  the  full  grain;  yet,  we  know  not  how; — but 
then  comes  the  harvest.  This  was  a  prophecy,  that  as  the  seed 
of  the  Word  grows  in  each  human  spirit,  so  would  His  Kingdom 
grow  in  the  world. 

And,  again,  Christ  likened  His  Kingdom  to  a  grain  of  mus- 
tard seed,  the  least  of  seeds  which  grow  to  a  tree  ;  greater  than 
all  herbs,  and  the  fowls  lo:lge  in  its  branches;  representing  the 
way  it  would  spread  in  the  world,  and  the  blessings  the  nations 
would  find  in  its  shelter.  Looking  over  the  realms  of  creation, 
with  its  millions  of  species  of  plants  and  animals,  Jesus  knew 
there  was  no  more  perfect  type  of  His  Kingdom  than  a  seed. 
The  Psalmist  foretold  Christ,  as  the  vine  from  Egypt,  whose 
roots  would  fill  the  land,  and  His  lu-anches  cover  the  hills,  and 
spread  over  the  rivers  and  seas  :  the  vine  was  a  symbol  of  Christ 
and  His  Church,  as  it  was  also  of  the  Jewish  Church. 

It  has  been  said  Christ  erred  in  calling  mustard  the  least  of 
seeds,  for  there  are  many  smaller  ;  but  in  the  East  there  is  an  ar- 
boreus  mustard,  with  a  woody  bole,  greater  than  all  herbs,  its 
seed  tlie  smallest  of  the  trees,  and  His  words  are  literally  true. 
And  He  made  known  that  the  same  mysterious  law  of  the  physi- 
cal cosmos,  exists  p^^so  in  the  spiritual  world  ;  and  so  the  seed  pro- 
phetically prefigured  the  growth  of  His  Kingdom  from  its  insig- 
nificant beginning. 

The  growth  of  seed  is  often  invisible  for  a  time,  but  it 
springs  and  grows  men  know  not  how  ;  and  this  was  a  lesson  for 


133  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

ufie  Apostles — not  to  be  discouraged,  though  tliey  saw  no  imme- 
diate gn)\vth  of  His  King.loin. 

The  Parable  of  the  Good  Seed  predicted  the  visible  aspect 
of  the  Churcli  in  all  ages,  and  forwarned  the  Apostles,  and  aW 
ministers,  of  the  trials  awaiting  them  in  doing  their  dnties  ; 
Christ  is  the  Sower,  the  field  is  the  world,  the  Seed  His  spiritntd 
life;  and  the  enemy  sowing  tares,  is  the  devil,  while  careless  or 
nnfaithful  ministers  are  asleep. 

The  darnel  is  a  false  wheat,  with  stalk  and  head,  but  no 
gi'ain  ;  yet  both  must  grow  until  the  harvest,  because  none  but 
the  Lord,  the  Judge,  can  discern  between  the  true  and  false, 
except  in  the  case  of  notorious  evil  lives.  Then  comes  in 
the  new  doctrine,  and  new  motive  Clirist  revealed — of  future 
rewards  and  punishments  ;  the  wicked  to  be  bound  in  bundles 
to  be  burned,  the  righteous  gathered  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven. 

Christ  speaks  of  the  devil  as  an  actual  personal  being,  hav- 
ing power  to  do  evil,  but  only  for  a  time.  He  represents  him  as 
the  enemy  of  God  as  well  as  man;  but  He  had  come  to  destroy 
his  power:  and  iinally  cast  him  into  Hell.  So  Hell  is  a  necessity 
of  God's  moral  government,  for  the  devil  is  God's  adversary,  and 
he  always  will  l)e,  and  so  must  always  be  confined  in  that  world 
of  woe  ;  and  men  will  not  be  punished  merely  for  sins  done  here, 
but  because  they  made  themselves  evil,  and  will  forever  I>e 
adversaries  of  God,  because  He  punished  their  evil  ;  they  will 
hate  and  sin,  and  so  their  punishment  will  be  continued;  because 
sin  has  a  self-inflicting  penalty,  and  there  can  be  no  repentance 
in  Hell, — and  if  it  were  possi])le,  there  will  be  no  mediator  l)e- 
tween  God  and  the  condemned. 

The  Parable  of  the  Leaven  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal, 
foretold  how  the  kingdom  would  leaven  the  world,  without  man's 
observation  ;  and  the  number  three,  the  Hebrew  symbol  of  per- 
fection, that  it  would   help  the  good,  the  better,  and  the   best, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  133 

in  accomplishiniç  its  own  mission, — leaven  begins  its  expansive 
force  immediate]}^,  so  would  Ilis  Kingdom. 

The  Parable  of  the  Hidden  Treasure,  and  the  Pearl,  and  the 
Draw-Net,  wliicli  belong  to  this  cluster,  and  were  delivered  to  the 
Apostles  for  their  especial  instruction,  just  before  tliey  were  sent 
out  to  help  Christ  prepare  for  the  kingdom,  and  bear  upon  the 
same  point,  and  tell  how  the  treasures  hid  in  the  earth,  and  the 
shells  of  the  sea,  representing  the  Divine  grace  of  the  Church, 
must  be  obtained  by  personal  exertion  ;  though  it  may  be  stum- 
bled on  while  digging,  yet  both  must  be  seeking  for  it  ;  and 
when  it  is  found,  tlie  tinder  gladh''  gives  up  the  whole  world  for 
it.  Tlie  Draw-Net  looks  foward  to  the  iinal  separation  of  the 
wheat  and  tares  in  the  kingdom;  the  sea  is  the  world;  the  net 
the  Church.  It  will,  like  the  field,  have  good  and  bad,  so  long  as 
it  remains  in  time;  but  when  tlie  angels  drag  it  to  the  shores  of 
eternity,  then  the  tinal  parting  of  the  good  and  bad  will  l>e-  The 
pearl  of  great  price  is  the  inward  holiness  of  each  member,  and 
that  represents  the  final  aspect  of  the  whole  kingdom  of  God, 
when  it  is  gathered  for  its  harvest  in  the  heavenly  world  ;  and  so 
the  future  eternal  destiny  of  Christ's  Church  is  represented,  and 
also  that  that  grandest  discovery  of  modern  scientific  investiga- 
tion, of  the  unity  of  all  the  forces  of  the  universe,  has  a  like  cor- 
relation in  the  spiritual  cosmos. 

Christ  spake  many  Parables  to  the  people,  and  when  they 
were  alone  He  explained  them  to  the  disciples.  And  thus  they 
were  gradually  trained  to  understand  greater  mysteries  when  the 
kingdom  came,  and  were  prepared  to  teach  them,  while  He  ful- 
filled the  prophecy,  that  He  "  would  open  His  moutli  in  paral)les; 
and  utter  dark  sayings  of  old;"  and  want  of  faith  was  a  l)andage 
over  the  Pharisees'  minds,  which  made  Christ's  words  darkness 
to  them. 


^^e.^:?^^^) 


CHAPTER    XX 


THE  TWELVE  APOSTLES  SENT. 


Some  of  the  Apostles  had  been  with  Christ  nearly  two  years, 
liearing  His  teaching,  and  seeing  His  miracles,  and  holy  life,  and 
being  trained  by  His  example  to  assist  in  His  work,  which  had 
grown  too  great  for  Him  alone.  All  of  them  were  older  than 
Christ,  yet  tliey  looked  to  Him  for  counsel,  and  were  obedient  to 
His  requests;  and  He  did  not  send  them  out  uneducated,  or  un- 
prepared. He  empowered  tliem  to  teach,  to  cast  out  devils,  and 
Ileal  the  sick  ;  and  said,  "  I  send  you  as  sheep  among  wolves, 
and  men  will  deliver  you  to  rulei-s,  and  governors,  and  scourge 
you  ;  "  but  they  must  be  harndess  as  dctves,  and  they  need  fear 
nothing,  for  the  Spirit  of  the  Fatlier  w^ould  be  with  them  and 
teach  them.  They  must  take  neitlier  clothing,  food,  nor  money, 
but  preach  the  kingdom  of  God;  and  where  they  were  not  well 
received,  make  no  contest,  but  depart, — and  shake  tlie  dust  from 
their  feet  for  a  testimony  against  them.  "And  they  went  through 
the  towns  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  healing  every  where." 

Surely  it  required  faith  and  preparation  for  su(;h  men  to 
begin  such  a  mission,  when  they  knew  how  their  Lord  was 
watched,  and  hated,  by  the  Rulers  of  the  nation.  He  charged 
them  on  entering  a  house  to  "salute  it,"  which  included  all 
Christian  courtesy.    He  aimed  to  have  His  disciples  show  the 


L I  F  E    O  F    C  H  m  s  T  135 

power  of  His  religion  in  their  outward  manners,  as  well  as  in- 
ward life;  because  true  politeness  has  its  foundation  in  the  attri- 
butes of  God,  and  a  Cliristian  gentleman  would  foi-ever  be  the 
t3'pe  of  perfect  manhood, — and  Christ's  example  is  the  model; 
and  politeness,  a  tender  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others,  hj  per- 
sonal sacrifice,  is  an  eminent  Christian  virtue,  and  an  outward 
sign  of  a  Christ-like  life;  and  is  not  Jesus  Christ  alone,  in  our 
world,  such  a  Man, — living  in  that  age  of  brutality  and  moral 
corruption, — as  great  a  proof  of  His  Divine  Nature  as  any  miracle 
He  ever  wrought? 

And  as  they  went  they  must  freely  give  the  grace  and  power 
received  from  Him,  as  it  was  freely  given  ;  and,  finally,  it  would 
be  more  tolerable  for  Sodom  and  Gomorroh  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, than  for  those  who  refused  to  receive  them. 

They  knew  the  conflict  His  preaching  and  doctrines  had 
already  caused  in  the  world,  and  had  been  told  by  Christ,  how  it 
would  set  men  and  brethren  against  one  another;  but  it  was  not 
from  any  evil  in  the  religion,  but  because  of  its  opposition  to  the 
evil  and  unbelief  in  men's  hearts.  But  they  need  not  fear  those 
who  could  only  kill  the  body,  and  their  final  reward  would  be  to 
be  confessed  by  Him,  before  His  Father  in  Heaven  ;  thus  He  was 
Itringing  life  and  immortality  to  light,  ignoiing  the  Legal  Sacri- 
fices and  rewards  and  punishments,  and  transferring  all  to  a  fu- 
ture tribunal.  This  was  the  way  they  were  prepared,  and  sent 
out  to  preach  the  coming  of  His  kingdom;  and  to  as  many  as 
received  them.  He  promised  that  they  should  become  Sons  of 
G^^d, — after  the  higher  spiritual  type  of  the  Gospel.  And  He 
cliallenged  men  then,  and  to  time's  end,  to  try  the  doctrines,  and 
they  would  learn  that  they  are  from  God. 

And  that  Discourse  to  the  Apostles,  foretold  things  none 
but  God  could  know,  and  that  have  ever  since  been  fulfillinçr. 
The  sword  Clirist  brought.  His  ministers  have  ever  since  been 
wielding,  conquering  peace  for  all  believers,a8well  as  sundering 


136  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

f.amilj  ties  by  the  heresies  and  schisms  wliich  they  cat  off.  All 
His  teacîiings  were  adapted  to  the  world  He  made,  and  also  to 
its  future  history  to  be  developed, — which  no  impostor  could  have 
foreseen  and  predicted,  and  none  but  the  Son  of  God  have 
known.  The  Apostles  soon  returned  and  reported  their  t^ucccss  to 
Him,  and  He  took  tliem  apart  privately  to  thank  God  in  prayer 
for  all  they  had  accomplished. 

After  Christ  had  given  the  Apostles  their  charge  and  sent 
them  out,  He  departed  again  to  teach  and  preacli  in  the  cities. 
And  here  occurs  another  of  those  gaps  in  His  earthly  life,  whicli 
the  Evangelists  furnish  no  clue  to  bridge  over.  But  some  inter- 
val of  time  had  evidently  elapsed  since  Herod  Antipas  had  im- 
prisoned John  the  Baptist;  and  he  sent  two  of  his  disciples  to  our 
Lurd,  to  ask  whether  He  was  the  Messiuh,  or  if  they  were  to 
look  for  another? 

It  is  not  strange  that  John  should  doubt  Christ's  Messiah- 
ship,  even  after  his  testimony,  and  all  the  marvels  which  attended 
His  baptism;  because  nearly  two  years  had  passed,  and  he  saw 
no  signs  of  a  kingdom.  And,  as  he  was  related  to  CIn-ist  in  the 
flesh,  and  was  conscious  of  his  office  as  His  messenger,  he  could 
not  but  expect,  that,  if  He  were  the  Messiah,  He  would  deliver 
him. 

But  we  now  see,  that  this  incident  helped  to  bring  out  Christ's 
testimony  concerning  John  more  clearly,  and  so  incidentally  more 
plainly  establishing  His  messiahship.  In  answer  to  the  question 
of  John's  disciples,  Christ  told  them  to  report  to  him  what  they 
j^.^^^v, —  the  blind  are  restored,  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are 
cleansed,  the  dead  are  raised,  the  poor  have  the  Gospel  preached 
to  them,  "and  blessed  is  he  whosoever  shall  not  be  offended  in 
Me."' 

Jesus  said  nothing  personal  of  Ilin.self,  but  showed  them 
His  works,  and  told  them  to  report  them  to  their  master;  but 
He  thereby  identified  Himself  as  the  Messiah  of  prophecy;  and 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  137 

warned  John  not  to  doubt  it.  And  wlien  they  departed  He  de- 
livered another  of  those  speeches,  which  seem  paradoxical,  Imt 
plainl)^  contirmed  Jolm  as  His  Messenger,  as  the  Messiah.  John 
was  a  reed  shaken  by  tlie  wind,  yet  more  tlian  a  Propliet;  His 
Messenger,  yet  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  was  greater 
than  lie.  John  was  greater  than  any  prophet,  because  he  was  a 
miraculous  child,  announced  by  the  Arcli  Angel  Gabriel,  as  the 
Messenger  of  Clirist,  and  His  first  adult  martyr  for  righteousness' 
sake;  yet  he  was  less  tlian  the  least  in  Cnrist's  kingdom,  because 
he  died  before  it  was  organized,  and  before  the  H0I3'  Gliost 
came,  and  so  never  received  its  spiritual  regeneration  in  this  world. 

John's  greatness  was  in  his  relations  to  God,  and  not  to  man. 
He  wrought  no  miracle,  wrote  no  Gospel,  ordained  no  minister, 
organized  no  society,  and  left  no  disciples;  after  one  year's  labor 
he  was  imprisoned,  and  before  his  death  his  followers  became 
Christ's  disciples.  But  John  began  the  great  transition  of  Juda- 
ism to  Christianity,  and  the  new  mode  of  salvation  by  faith  in 
Christ,  I'cpentance  of  sins,  and  baptism,  instead  of  the  old  cove- 
nant and  sacrifices;  and  so  lie  was  a  conspicuous  person  in  work- 
ing OUH  of  the  greatest  revolutions  in  our  world's  history.  For 
Christ  says,  with  John  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  began  to  suffer 
violence,  and  the  rending  of  the  old  kingdom  began  to  prepare 
the  way  for  the  building  of  the  new  kingdom  of  God  on  its  ruins. 

It  received  its  first  death  blow  from  John;  the  coming  king- 
dom suffered  violence  by  tlie  assaults  of  the  Scribes  and  i'harisees, 
while  the  violent,  the  Publicans  and  sinners  began  taking  the  old 
kingdom  from  its  rulers,  by  a  Divine  force  too  powerful  for 
them  to  resist.  And  this  kind  of  testimony  from  Clirist,  this 
knowledge  of  the  part  the  mission  of  John  played  in  our  world's 
history,  is  more  conclusive  as  to  His  Own  Divinity  than  His 
miracles;  for  it  reveals  what  the  rulers  did  not  perceive,  and 
what  none  but  God  knew. 

Christ  then,  renewing  His  discourse  to  the  people,  rebuked 


138  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

the  whole  generation,  comparing  it  to  cliildren  ph\ying  in  the 
jNTarket;  because  they  accused  Jolm  of  having  a  devil,  for  his 
asceticism;  and  rejected  Him,  because  of  His  socialii^m  with  the 
Publicans  and  sinners.  And  He  repi-oached  by  name  some  of 
the  cities,  where  He  had  wrought  miracles,  because  they  did  not 
l)elieve  and  repent;  and  foretold  their  penalty  at  the  day  uî  juilg- 
meat.  Many  of  His  discourses  pointed  His  hearers  forward  to 
that,  as  a  chief  motive  to  believe  and  obey  Hira. 

And  it  required  superhuman  courage,  for  this  young  man 
to  stand  and  rebuke  a  whole  generation,  before  a  mulitude;  and 
to  teli  them  no  matter  how  God  sent  prophets  to  teach  them  the 
way  of  salvation,  they  would  not  receive  them;  and  tliat  they 
would  be  cast  into  Hell,  and  their  punishment  be  worse  than  the 
people  of  Sodom  ?.nd  Gomorrah.  It  is  therefore  certain,  that 
some  of  the  Jews  believed  in  Hell,  a  place  of  punishment  by  hrej 
as  their  term  Gehenna  signified  ;  or  Christ's  words  would  have 
had  no  signiticancy,  and  hence  no  warning  to  His  hearers. 

And  then,  as  if  deeply  grieved  at  the  foresight  of  the  painful 
picture,  and  at  the  hard-heartedness  of  the  people.  He  thanked 
the  Father,  "the  Lord  of  Heaven  and  earth,"  that  tliere  were 
some  meek  and  lowly  who  believed  in  Him,  while  He  was 
hidden  from  the  wise  in  their  own  eyes,  and  Avorldly  prudent  not 
to  confess  Him,  lest  they  should  be  put  out  of  the  Synagogue  ; 
and  He  repeated  His  testimony  of  Himself,  as  the  Son  of  the 
Father,  endued  with  all  power  in  Heaven,  Earth,  and  Hell,  be- 
cause He  is  the  Son  of  Man  ;  and  He  invited  the  weary  and  heavy 
laden  to  come  to  Him  and  find  rest  for  theij*  souls;  and  to  learn 
of  Him,  "  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart," — an  infinite  contrast 
with  the  proud  rulers  of  the  day,  and  a  perfect  description  of 
what  the  Gospel  shows  His  whole  life  was.  And  finally  He 
declared,  what  all  Christians  have  since  found  true,  "  My  yoke 
is  easyi  and  its  burden  light;"  very  light  in  comparison  with  the 
devil's,  which  the  men  of  tlie  world  are  compelled  to  bear. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  139 

Not  long  after  tliis,  Herod  beheaded  John  in  prison,  and 
his  disciples  buried  liis  body,  and  went  and  told  Christ.  The 
Apostles  also  had  returned  from  their  late  missionary  journey, 
and  reported  to  the  Lord  all  they  had  taught  and  done;  and  He 
departed  thence  with  His  disciples,  and  a  great  multitude,  into  a 
wilderness  near  Bethsaida,  and  the  sick  were  brought  to  Him, 
and  He  healed  them  ;  and  there  He  wrought  the  great  miracle 
of  feeding  five  thousand,  which  tells  how  large  the  multitudes 
were  who  followed  Him. 

As  it  drew  towards  evening,  the  Apostles  asked  Him  to 
send  away  the  people,  to  the  neighboring  villages  to  buy  them- 
selves food.  But  He  said,  "Give  ye  them  to  eat;"  and  He 
asked  Philip,  "  AVhence  they  should  buy  bread  for  so  many,'' 
to  try  him;  but  He  knew  what  He  would  do. 

The  disciples  answered,  that  "  they  had  but  five  loaves  and 
two  fishes  ;  "  and  He  commanded  them  to  be  brought,  and  made 
the  multitude  sit  down,  and  He  blessed  and  brake  the  bread  and 
fishes, and  gave  them  to  the  disciples  to  distribute;  and  when  all 
had  eaten  He  ordered  the  fragments  to  be  gathered,  and  they 
took  up  twelve  baskets  full, — apparently  each  Apostle  collecting 
a  basket. 

This  mh'acle  was  wrought  for  a  double  purpose;  first  to 
show  His  compassion  for  the  famishing,  and  second  as  a 
lesson  for  the  Apostles;  because,  St.  Jolin  saj^s,  this  occurred 
near  the  time  of  the  Passover,  as  if  it  had  some  relation  to  that 
Festival.  Which  was,  perhaps,  to  show  that  its  sacrificial  bread 
and  wine  prefigured  those  eieme-nts,  which  He  was  to  make 
sacramental  for  His  Kingdom  ;  and  to  convey  His  righteousness 
and  eternal  life,  as  the  benefits  of  His  own  sacrifice,  as  the  true 
Pascal  Lamb  of  God. 

Christ  did  not  distribute  tlie  food,  nor  gatlier  the  frag- 
ments, botli  miracles  took  place  in  the  Apostles  hands, — thereby 
Ho  t'oreshadowed  the-  channels  through  which  He  would  trans- 


140  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

mit  His  power,  in  His  kingdom  And  the  remainder,  after  all 
had  eaten,  showed  that  the  salvation  through  tlieni  wouUl  be 
more  than  enough  for  the  whole  world;  and  it  Avas  forever  to  be 
;i  memorial  of  His  Divine  power,  and  mystical,  life-giving  Pres- 
ence in  these  elements. 

The  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  is  an  infinite  mystery  ; 
yet  it  is  of  the  same  kind  as  His  spiritual  Pi'esence  now  in  the 
elements  of  the  blessed  sacrament, — to  give  spiritual  life;  and 
now,  as  then,  the  miracle  is  wrought  by  Him,  in  His  ministers' 
hands.  And  the  supernatural  quantity  is  explained,  in  that  l)0th 
the  quantity  of  bread  and  its  distributors  have  increased, — until 
now,  day  and  night,  all  over  the  globe,  these  elements  are  being 
given  to  the  living  and  the  dying,  and  both  are  increasing;  while 
modern  science  has  furnished  means  to  understand  and  believe 
the  mystery.  Because  the  Sun,  millions  of  miles  distant,  sustains 
all  life  on  the  earth,  and  makes  plants,  flowers,  and  fruits  grow; 
and  this  is  one  kind  of  proof  that  Christ,  tlie  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness, can  infuse  His  life  and  righteousness  into  matter,  and  make 
it  give  S])iritual  strength  and  life  to  men. 

The  transmission  of  heat  and  life  on  sunbeams,  explains 
how  Christ  can  transmit  His  life  and  grace  from  Heaven  to  l)read 
and  wine  here  ;  and  yet,  after  consecration,  they  remain  bread 
and  wine, — a  new  spiritual  element  being  added  to  them,  while 
they  are  unchanged. 

Besides  this,  age,  that  destroys  all  human  things,  has  in- 
creased the  distributors  and  receivers.  Alexander  and  Cœsar 
inspired  their  armies  with  valor  b}'  their  presence;  but  Mhen 
they  died  their  ai-mies  dispersed,  and  tliey  were  forgotten  but  in 
Histor}-;  but  Christ  was  crucifled,  and  His  disciples  persecuted 
for  centuries.  But  He  has  an  army  of  three  hundred  milUons  who 
believe  in  Him,  and  w-orship  Him,  and  would  lay  down  their 
lives  for  Him  ;  and  ever  since  multitudes  have  loved  Him,  have 
lisped  His  prnyer  from  childhood,  have  shown  His  righteousness 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  141 

in  tlieir  lives,  and  its  power  in  death,  by  partaking  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  as  the  last  act  of  tliis  life  ;  and  showino;  nnfulterinir 
trust  in  Hira,  for  time  and  eternity.  And  this,  after  so  many 
centuries  and  the  changes  of  time,-  is  more  wonderful  than  the 
original  miracle,  by  which  He  antetyped  it.  And  no  wonder 
the  people,  who  saw  the  miracle,  said:  "This  is  of  a  truth  that 
Prophet  that  should  come  into  the  world;"  and  that  they  wanted 
to  take  Him  by  force,  and  make  Him  a  King;  but  He  departed 
into  a  mountain,  alone. 

That  evening  the  Apostles  sailed  over  the  Sea  of  Galilee  to- 
wards Capernaum  ;  at  dark  the  wind  blew,  and  the  waves  arose,  and 
they  saw  Christ  coming  walking  on  the  sea,  and  they  were  afraid  ; 
but  He  said  to  them,  "It  is  I,"  and  they  received  Him  into  the 
boat,  and  immediately  they  were  at  the  land  whither  they  went. 
Tliere  was  a  double  miracle,  differing  essentially  from  that 
when  He  stilled  the  winds  and  waves  :  then  they  obeyed  Him  as 
servants;  but  now  He  walked  on  the  water  as  its  Lord,  and 
transported  the  boat  l)y  His  will  to  the  shore.  Three  Evangel- 
ists give  particulars  of  that  stormy  night:  St.  Peter,  attemptino- 
to  walk  to  Christ,  began  to  sink,  and  He  held  and  saved  him; 
when  He  entered  the  boat  the  wind  ceased,  and  the  disciples 
worshipped  Him,  saying,  "of  a  truth  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God." 
And,  "They  were  sore  amazed,  and  considered  notthemiracleof 
the  loaves  and  fishes  ;  for  their  hearts  were  hardened."  This 
is  not  the  kind  of  record  men  would  make  who  were  attempting 
to  foist  a  false  Gospel,  or  were  themselves  deceived,  or  trying  to 
deceive  others. 

In  this  worship  of  Christ,  and  confession:  "Thou  art  the 
Son  of  God,"  there  was  only  the  reverence  due  Him  as  the 
Messiah, — it  was  a  confession  of  faith  in  Him  according  to  their 
Jewish  ideas,  because, — with  their  monotheism, — if  He  had  told 
them  plainly  of  His  Divine  nature,  they  would  conceived  of  Him 
oiiiy  as  a  second  God. 


142  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Clirist  never  taught  tlie  Apostles  before  His  resurrection, 
that  tliere  is  more  than  one  person  in  the  Godhead,  but  "  I  and 
My  Father  are  ONE;  and  "he  wlio  hath  seen  Me,  hatli  seen  the 
Father."  And  His  words  conveyed  to  their  minds  only  a  super- 
luiman  origin,  a  miraculous  conception,  having  a  will  in  accord 
with  God's  will.  He  continually  spake  of  the  Father's  love,  and 
of  Plis  coming  forth  from  the  Father,  Vjut  said  but  little  of  Him- 
self, even  as  the  Christ  ;  and  never  in  such  a  way  as  to  declare 
Himself  as  the  Son  of  God,  in  His  relation  as  the  second  Person 
of  the  Holy  Trinity,  so  that  they  could  understand  it. 

But  may  not  Christ  have  taught  the  Apostles  privately  con- 
cerning His  Divinity,  when  He  said,  "To  you  it  is  given  to  know 
the  mysteries  of  God?"  The  answer  is,  there  is  no  evidence  of 
it  except  as  one  of  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  God  ; 
this  is  apparent  in  all  the  Parables,  and  this  was  to  prepare  them 
for  the  part  they  had  to  take  in  it.  It  was  as  essential  that  this 
revelation  should  be  hidden  from  them,  as  it  Avas  from  the  Jews, 
— until  after  His  resurrection, — for  they  were  not  able  then  to 
bear  it. 

The  next  day  Christ  and  His  disciples  went  to  Capernaum, 
and  the  people  came  to  Him  from  the  country  and  villages,  l)i-ing- 
ing  all  kinds  of  sick  persons,  and  He  healed  them.  There,  also. 
He  delivered  another  discourse;  which  shows  how  He  taught 
and  reasoned  with  the  people,  and  answered  their  questions  and 
raurmers, — ^"by  revealing  greater  truths  and  mysteries. 

He  begun  with  His  Divine  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you," 
as  if  He  were  God,  and  there  was  no  appeal  from  His  dogma; 
and  it  bears  internal  evidence,  that  it  was  no  imaginary  speech, 
but  a  true  report  of  things  both  probable  and  real.  There  is  the 
same  confident  tone,  the  same  superhuman  knowledge  revealed, 
in  His  discourses,  whi(îh  none  but  God  could  know,  explaining 
things  He  could  not  have  done,  unless  He  had  been  in  Heaven, 
and  knew  them  as  God;  doctrines  of  Heaven,  Hell  and  Paradise, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  148 

and  man's  future  eternal  life  ;  and  He  promised — tliat  coming  to 
Him,  and  believing  in  Him,  would  assuage  that  immortal  hun- 
gering and  thirsting  all  the  race  have  for  something  this  life  and 
world  can  never  give.  And  millions  have  since  found  His  words 
true;  and  have  said, — like  the  Samaritans  to  their  country- 
— woman,  now  we  believe,  because  we  have  seen  Him  ourselves, 
and  know  that  He  is  the  very  Christ  of  God. 

He  told  the  multitude  a  secret  of  their  hearts,  which  many 
knew  was  true — that  they  followed  Him  to  see  His  miracles,  and 
eat  the  bread  ;  and  warned  them  to  seek  the  meat  which  gives 
eternal  life,  which  He  can  give,  be(;ause  God  the  Father  has  sealed 
Him,  as  the  Son  of  man,  to  give  it.  And  when  they  asked  what 
they  shall  do  ?  He  says,  "  Believe  on  Me,  whom  the  Father  hath 
sent.  And  when  they  ask,  what  sign  He  could  give  to  show,  as 
Moses  did,  when  He  gave  the  Israelites  bread  from  Heaven  ? 
He  renewed  His  dogmatic  declaration,  "  Yerily  verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  Moses  gave  yon  not  that  bread  fom  Heaven,  but  My 
Father  giveth  you  the  true  Bread."  Moses'  bread  was  made  from 
this  world's  elements  ;  and  not  Moses,  but  God  gave  it  to  their 
fathers  from  the  sky.  "  But  My  Father  giveth  you  the  true 
Bread  froin  Heaven  ;  for  the  Bread  of  God  is  He  who  cometh 
down  from  Heaven,  and  giveth  His  life  for  the  world."  The 
life  of  the  Son  of  God,  in  His  huma.n  body,  had  come  from 
Heaven,  and  made  Him  Heavenly  bread  ;  how  He  could  give  it 
to  them  they  did  not  understand,  until  the  night  before  His 
crucifixion,  and  the  institution  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  our  Lord's  revelation  to  His  dis- 
ciples, of  the  use  of  Bread  and  Wine  in  the  old  sacrifices;  and 
especially  in  the  Pascal  Supper,  which  were  types  of  His  Body 
and  Blood.  And  when  the  disciples  said,  "Lord,  ever  more 
give  us  of  this  bread  :  " 

"  Jesus  said,  I  am  the  Bread  of  Life  :  he  who  cometh  to  Me 
shall  never  hunger:  and  He  who  believeth  in  Me  shall  never 


144  LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  *. 

thirst;"  and  "nil  that  the  Father  giveth  Me,  shall  conic  to  Me; 
and  he  who  conieth  to  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  ont,"  And  in 
this,  He  was  doini!;  the  Fathers  will;  and  it  was  the  seed  of  the 
doctrine  wliich  He  revealed  at  the  institntion  of  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament, which  He  fonnded  on  the  Pascal  Snpper. 

AVhen  the  Jews  mnrrnnred  and  asked  among  themselves, 
"  How  can  this  man  give  us  His  flesh  to  eat  ?  "  He  showed  them 
that  He  knew  their  thoughts;  and  said,  "Verily,  veril}',  I  say 
unto  you,  except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  drink 
His  blood  (as  the  Lamb  of  God,)  ye  have  no  life  in  you."  And 
whoever  did  would  receive  eternal  life,  and  He  would  raise  him 
at  the  last  day;  because  thereby  He  would  dwell  in  them,  and 
they  in  Him;  and  as  He  lived  by  the  Father  who  sent  Him,  so 
they  would  live  by  him  ;  and  to  this  day  all  Christian  experience 
proves  that  His  words  were  true. 

It  was  a  declaration  of  one  of  the  deepest  mysteries  of  His 
incarnation,  and  our  redemption  ;  and  impossible  for  His  disci- 
ples to  understand,  until  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost, — and 
some  said,  "It  is  a  hard  saying."  Would  men,  writing  to  deceive 
or  make  out  a  good  case  for  cur  Lord,  record  such  damaging 
testimony  as  this?  But  if  they  believed  He  were  the  Christ, 
then  tliey  knew  it  could  not  injure  His  cause;  and  they  wrote 
the  simple  truth  just  as  it  was,  and  as  God  inspired  them  to  write. 
In  this  way  He  taught,  that  the  Sacraments  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  were  to  convey  infinitely  greater  blessings  than  the  sacri- 
fices of  the  old  kingdom  of  God. 

The  murmurs  also  drew  from  Christ  another  revelation  of 
Himself,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  that  He  would  ascend  to  Heaven, 
from  whence  He  came  as  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  quickens  by  His  sacraments,  and  conveys  the  •eternal  life 
to  men  ;  and  that  His  word  is  both  spirit  and  life,  because  He  is 
the  WOBD  of  God,  and  so  able  to  give  eternal  life  to  all  who 
believe  in  and  obey  Him. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  145 

And  then  He  ended  His  discourse,  showing  them  He  not 
only  knew  what  thonglits  were  in  thei)'  minds  ;  that  some,  there, 
did  not  helieve  in  Him  ;  that  one  of  His  Apostles  would  betray 
Him.  So  that  He  knew  what  Judas  would  think  almost  two 
years  after,  and  saying  that  he  had  tlien  a  devil. 

And  when  some  disciples  turned  away  from  following  Him, 
He  asked  the  twelve,  "Will  ye  also  go  away?"  And  Peter 
answered,  "  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go.  Thou  hast  the  words  of 
eternal  life  !  We  believe  and  are  sure  tliat  Thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God!"  And  we  now  know  that  He  was, 
from  His  omniscience  then  shown,  from  the  fullillnient  of  His 
prophecies,  and  because  none  but  God,  who  endures  so  mucli 
from  the  unbelief  and  wickedness  of  sinners,  would  have  suffered 
Judas'  presence  as  an  Apostle  for  nearly  tw^o  yeai's  more. 


CHAPTER   XXI' 

THE  DELEGATION  FROM  JERUSALEM. 

The  report  of  Christ's  increasing  popularity,  tliat  He  healed 
many  diseases,  and  virtue  went  out  of  Him,  to  those  wlio  touched 
His  garments  and  made  them  M'hole,  was  public  rumor  at  Jeru- 
salem; and  tlie  rulers  sent  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  to  examine 
into  the  truth  of  the  repoi-ts,  and  they  unconsciously  made  testi- 
mony to  prove  Him  the  Messiah.  Tlie  number  of  our  Lord's 
miracles  must  have  been  enormous,  on  account  of  tlie  prevalence 
of  disease  from  the  immorality  of  the  mixed  population  of  Galilee. 
But  these  spies,  instead  of  examining  into  Christ's  miracles,  and 
the  truth  of  His  doctrines,  or  if  He  violated  God's  laws,  ques- 
tioned Him  about  violating  their  traditions, — why  He  and  His 
disciples  washed  not  their  hands  before  eating?  Is  such  a  ques- 
tion probal)le,  if  there  were  a  possibility  that  His  miracles  were 
not  real  ? 

Although  the  accusation  was  trivial,  yet  it  is  important  to 
confirm  tlie  truth  of  the  Gospel;  since  Josephus  and  others  of 
that  age,  confirm  the  existence  of  these  parties  in  the  Jewish 
Church,  and  that  they  exalted  their  ti-aditions  above  God's  law. 
With  that  Divine  readiness,  and  logical  force,  with  which  Christ 
ever  met  His  adversaries,  He  answered  their  question  with  anoth- 
er, "Why  do  ye  transgress  God's  commandments?"  This  was  a 
challenge  for  them  to  compare  His  life  witJi  their  own. 

One  of  our  Lord's  greatest  revelations  of  iiimself  was  His 
holiness;  His  perfect  manhood;  His  ideal  of  human  perfection, 
in  all  He  said  and  did.    And  He  proved  Plimsclf  master  of  every 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST  147 

situation,  where  His  enemies  assuulted  Him,  and  vastly  superior  to 
the  shrewdest  and  most  learned  men  of  the  age.  He  quoted  one 
of  their  traditions,  and  saves  Himself  the  discourtesy  of  callinii; 
them  hypocrites — as  tliey  knew  they  were — by  repeating  Isaiali's 
propliecy  concerning  their  ancestors,  which  made  them  see  them- 
selves their  inheritors;  He  never  used  liarsh  words,  unless  it 
w^ere  with  the  desire  to  bring  sinners  to  repentance. 

He  dechu'ed  that  tlieir  traditions  dishonored  the  Heavenly 
Father,  and  tlieir  own  parents:  they  destroyed  the  spirituality  of 
the  Law,  and  made  all  righteousness  come  from  ceremonial  obe- 
dience. But  His  interpretation  of  it  showed,  that  its  grand  aim 
was  to  make  a  pure  heart,  and  a  holy  life. 

The  disciples  knew  the  Pharisees  were  offended  at  Christ's 
reception  and  discourse,  and  told  Him;  and  He  replied  by  warn- 
ing the  people  against  their  teaching,  and  that  they  w^ere  blind 
leaders  of  the  blind;  and  so  was  subtilely  preparing  the  way  for 
transferring  their  authority  and  teaching  to  His  Apostles,  and 
leading  the  people  to  a  higher  standard  of  moralit3',  and  to  the 
new  worship  of  His  kingdom,  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

St.  Peter  supposed  the  Lord's  words  were  a  Parable;  and, 
annoyed  by  his  duluess,  He  asked  with  unusual  severity,  and 
included  all  His  disciples,  "Are  ye  yet  witliout  understanding?" 
as  if  He  were  astonished  that,  after  being  so  long  with  Him,  they 
were  yet  so  dull. 

After  the  delegation  went  awa}^,  Christ  and  the  Apostles 
went  down  to  the  coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  there  met  a 
Syrophœnecian  woman,  who  besought  Him  to  have  mercy  on  her, 
îvnd  Ileal  her  afflicted  child-  And  Lie  did  so;  but  in  a  way  which 
made  the  miracle  one  of  the  most  impressive  pictures  in  tlie 
Gospel,  by  revealing  how  féiith  and  importunity  move  His  Divine 
compassion. 

His  mission  w^as  only  to  God's  covenant  people,  though  His 
kingdom  would  be  for  all  mankind;  the  first  offer  of  sah'ation 


148  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

must  be  to  Israel.  This  woman  was  a  Gentile,  and  she  had  no 
claim  then  to  His  personal  work.  Eut  she  professed  her  faith 
in  Ilim,  as  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  David,  and  prayed  for  mercy 
on  herself  and  child  ;  but  He  took  no  notice  of  her,  and  the 
disciples  asked  Him  to  send  her  away;  and  she  might  well  have 
asked, — Is  this  the  merciful  Jesus  of  wliom  I  have  heard  so  much  ? 
and  have  gone  away. 

But  she  did  not;  but  cried  on  until  He  said  to  her,  He  was 
sent  only  to  tlie  Jews;  then  she  drew  nearer  and  worshipped 
Him,  saying,  "  Lord,  help  me."  This  was  an  expression  of  strong 
faith,  under  a  hard  trial;  and  it  did  not  fail  of  its  reward; 
although  His  next  words  might  again  have  caused  her  to  despair, 
they  did  not.  Christ  said  to  her  "It  is  not  meet  to  give  children's 
bread  to  dogs;"  with  the  quickness  of  maternal  instinct,  and 
ready  mother  wit,  she  replied,  "The  dogs  eat  of  the  crumbs  that 
fall  from  the  Master's  table."  Then  Jesus  appeared  in  His  true 
character:  "O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith,  l)c  it  unto  thee  even  as 
tliou  wilt;"  and  her  daughter  was  healed.  Here  were  three 
stages  of  faith,  of  trust,  and  of  waiting  on  Christ;  first  crying  at 
a  distance,  calling  Him  Lord;  second,  approaching  and  worship- 
ping Him  ;  third,  persevering  in  humility  until  her  prayer  was 
answered.  So  she,  and  the  Centurion,  and  Samaritan  woman  were 
pledges  of  the  blessings  promi*ed  in  Christ  for  the  Gentile  world. 

Our  Lord  returned  with  His  disciples  from  the  region  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon  into  the  wilderness  near  the  sea  of  Galilee,  and 
many  cime  to  Him,  and  He  did  many  mighty  miracles  of  healing 
and  casting  out  devils  ;  and  the  people  glorified  the  God  of 
Israel,  foi-  all  they  saw  and  heai'd  from  Him. 

Here,  again,  after  the  people  had  been  threo  days  in  the 
Avildernoss  without  food,  Christ's  compassion  was  moved,  because 
He  knew  if  they  were  sent  home  they  would  faint  by  the  way; 
saying  so  to  the  disciples,  they  asked  whence  would  they  have 
fco  nuich   bread,  as  to  feed  such  a  multitude  in  the  wilderness? 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  149 

So  soon  had  thej  forgotten  His  Divine  power,  manifested  oiilv 
a  few  weeks  before,  in  feeding  five  thousand  in  tlie  wihlerness  ; 
and  it  is  not  the  act  of  imposters  to  record  such  damaging 
incidents  of  themselves. 

Jesus  asked,  "  How  many  loaves  have  ye?"  and  tliey  said 
seven  and  a  few  little  fishes."  And  He  commanded  the  multitude 
to  sit  down,  and  He  blessed  the  loaves  and  fislies,  and  the  disci- 
ples gave  them  to  four  thousand  men,  besides  women  and 
children;  and  the  disciples  took  up  of  the  fi*agments  se\'en 
baskets  full.  Christ  prefaced  this  miracle,  as  He  did  the  former 
one  of  feeding  the  people,  with  asking  a  blessing,  and  giving 
thanks  ;  though  Ity  His  Divine  power  He  was  about  to  multiply 
the  food,  an  example  to  all  His  disfdples  ;  and  at  the  conclusion 
of  tiie  feast,  gathering  the  remnants  of  food  He  created,  was 
another  example  of  economy, — for  always  it  i-equires  the  economy 
of  God  to  supply  the  waste  of  man. 

The  beginning  of  the  miracle  was  the  simultanenous  seat- 
ing of  such  a  multitude  by  Clu'ist's  command.  And  what  masses 
followed  Him,  and  how  eager  they  were  to  see  and  hear  Him, 
is  seen  by  the  fact  that  in  this  wilderness  were  four  thousand 
men,  besides  w^omen  and  children;  and,  judging  from  the  M-ay 
children  now  outnumber  adults,  when  any  exciting  things  occur, 
it  is  probable  many  more  thousands  of  persons  were  fed  that 
day. 

(Jur  Lord  and  His  disciples  departed  from  the  wilderness, 
and  crossed  to  the  west  side  of  the  lake  to  Magdela,  and  there 
the  watchful  Pharisees  again  come  to  Him,  tempting  Him,  and 
seeking  a  sign  from  Heaven.  But  He  declared  with  His  absolute 
"Yerily  I  say,  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  this  generation:" 
meaning  none  especially  to  convince  the  askers,  because  He  was 
daily  working  miracles  and  casting  out  devils  ;  and  every  miracle 
was  a  sign  from  Heaven,  to  the  meek  and  lowly  who  were  ready 
to  believe. 


150  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES. 

Tliero  is  no  i-ccovd  of  liow  Christ  spent  His  time,  nor  wliere 
He  "was  in  the  interval  between  His  departure  from  Ma^-dehi, 
and  His  appearance  at  Jerusalem,  at  tlie  Feast  of  Tabernacles. 
This  festival,  called  also  the  Feast  of  Ingatherings,  because  it 
was  celebrated  in  the  time  of  the  liarvest,  was  a  memorial  of  the 
Israelites'  dwelling  in  the  wilderness,  and  prefigured  Christ's 
dwelling  in  a  tabernacle  of  flesh.  And  it  was  originally  cele- 
brated with  great  pomp  and  ceremonial;- and  in  Christ's  time 
tiiere  Avas  a  solemn  assend)ly  in  the  Temple  on  the  first  day,  and 
on  tlie  octave  when  it  ended  ;  and  every  pious  Jew  was  required 
to  attend;  and  caravans  of  pilgrims  went  to  Jerusalem,  trumpets 
were  sounded  in  the  Temple,  the  Law  was  read,  and  seventy 
animals  "svere  sa(;riiiced  for  the  seventy  nations  supposed  to  be 
on  the  earth. 

Every  event  in  Christ's  life  brings  out  something  new  in 
Him,  or  helps  us  to  see  His  power  over  the  laws  of  nature,  or  to 
look  into  the  hearts,  the  minds,  and  homes,  and  habits. of  the 
people,  and  see  what  was  going  on  as  it  is  seen  in  no  other 
generation  before,  or  even  since  the  invention  of  printing.  There 
is  no  other  epoch  in  the  woi-ld's  history,  where  such  details  are 
recorded,  and  where  the  distinction  between  truth  and  falsehood 
can  be  more  easily  discerned,  than  in  the  three  years  of  Christ's 
public  ministry.  The  men,  the  towns  and  cities,  the  manners 
îuid  customs,  and  transpiring  events  are  photographed  and  trans- 
mitted to  us,  because  He  who  is  tlie  God  of  Truth  describes 
them. 

As  the  time  of  the  Feast  drew  near,  Christ's  brethren  de- 
sired Him  to  go  to  it;  and  here  comes  out  the  honest  confession, 
— that  '.hough  the  people  gencr.illy  believed  Him  to  be  the  Christ, 
His  brethren  did  not.  And  we  see  what  real  men  they  were,  for 
it  was  a  worldly  and  selfish  spirit  which  made  them  urge  Christ 
to  go;  if  He  were  the  Messiah,  why  did  He  delay  in  asserting 


LIFE    OF    CHE  1ST.  151 

His  office?  Why  delay  settiiiî^  up  His  kingdom?  Doubtless 
looking  to  office,  or  honors,  they  hoped  for  themselves.  Yet 
tiieir  douhts  help  to  confirm  our  faith  in  Him;  for  they  fulfilled 
His  M'ords  then,  that  "a  Prophet  is  not  without  honor  except  in 
his  own  countr_y,"  and  "  a  man's  foes  shall  he  of  His  own  house- 
hold ;  "  and  they  show  how  He  knew^  the  human  heart,  and  how  it 
e\'cr  would  be,  that  "all  the  world's  akin." 

But  Christ  only  said  to  His  brethren,  "My  time  is  not 
yet  come."  There  is  no  evidence  of  any  effort  on  His  part 
to  convince  His  relatives  of  His  Divine  nature  ;  He  did  not 
begin,  like  Mahomet,  to  proselyte  His  relations  first  to  believe 
in  Him, — but  told  them  to  go  to  the  Feast.  They  went  and 
He  soon  followed  them;  He  knew  the  Pharisees  expected 
Him,  and  that  they  were  trying  to  injure  His  influence,  by 
accusing  Him  of  deceiving  the  people;  and  those  who  believed 
Him  a  good  man,  were  afraid  to  publicly  say  so,  from  fear  of 
the  Rulers. 

Tliis  shows  how  fully  Christ's  character  and  w^orks  were 
scrutinized  by  friends  and  foes;  and  the  under-currents  of  love 
and  hate  were  suppressed  from  natural  causes;  the  rulers  dared 
not  express  their  enmity,  becrus  ■  of  His  popularity  with  the  peo- 
ple; and  the  people's  entliusiasm  was  restrained  at  Jerusalem, 
from  fear  of  the  Rulers.  This  does  not  look  like  invention; 
but  was  inevitable,  were  the  narrative  true. 

About  the  middle  of  the  Feast,  Christ  appeared  in  the  Tem- 
ple and  taught.  What  His  first  instruction  was,  is  not  related. 
There  is  no  instance  in  which  He  delivered  a  discourse  for  ora- 
torical display,  or  merely  to  show  His  superior  knowledge;  but, 
in  His  interpretations  of  the  Law  and  tlie  Prophets,  it  is  ever 
apparent  that  He  knew  more  of  the  spirit  of  the  Law,  and  hidden 
meaning  of  the  Propliets,  than  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees;  while 
in  His  deep  humility  He^onfessed,  "TJie  doctrines  are  not  Mine 
but  Hi?  who  sent  Me.''     And  if  they  would  do  Goal's  will,  they 


152  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

would  know  the  doctrines  were  from  Ilim,  and  wlietlicr  He  was 
ceeking  His  own  glory. 

Then  He  asked,  "Did  not  Moses  give  you  the  Law,  and  yet 
none  of  you  keepeth  tlie  Law.  AVhy  go  ye  about  to  kill  Me?" 
This  exposing  of  tlie'r  intentions  enraged  the  enemies,  and  they 
said,  "Tliou  liast  a  devil;  who  goeth  about  to  kill  Tliee?"  And 
He  answered,  not  resenting  their  cnlumny,  "1  have  done  one 
M'ork,  and  ye  all  marvel;"  and  He  told  them  that  they  violated 
the  Law  of  Moses,  by  circumcising  on  the  Sabbath;  and  why 
should  they  be  angry  because  He  made  a  man  whole  on  that 
day,  and  saying,  "Judge  not  according  to  appearance,  but  judge 
righteous  judgment."  His  defense  was  sanctioned  by  tlicir  own 
custom,  and  He  transferred  it  to  administering  His  new  covenant 
of  baptism  on  the  Lord's  day;  and  in  tliis  waj-,  undisccrnable  ])y 
the  Jews,  He  gradually  prepared  to  change  the  old  ceremonial 
and  ritual  of  the  Law,  to  the  Liturgy  of  His  Churcli. 

Some  one  present  asked  if  Christ  were  not  the  man  the 
Rulers  sought  to  kill,  and  said  that  He  spake  boldly  and  they 
said  nothing  to  Him,  "Do  the  Rulers  know  indeed  that  this  is 
the  very  Christ?"  This  confirms  Christ's  words,  and  shows  that 
tlie  people  knew  of  the  evil  intention  to  kill  Him.  And  they 
said,  "We  know  whence  this  man  is;  but  when  Clirist  comes, 
no  m^n  will  know." 

Here  we  see  into  the  heart  of  the  Rulers  and  the  people, 
and  how  public  opinion  was  divided  respecting  Christ;  this  secret 
talk  among  the  multitude  He  knew,  and  there  in  the  Temple  de- 
clai-cd,  "  Ye  both  know  Me,  whence  I  am:  and  I  am  not  come  of 
myself,  but  He  who  sent  Me  is  true,  whom  ye  know  not."  He 
spake  of  the  true  God,  and  said,  "I  know  Him:  for  I  am  from 
Him:  and  He  hath  sent  Me." 

And  human  language  could  hardly  more  dii'ecth^  assert  His 
Divhie  origin,  mission,  and  authority  ; 'and  to  suppose  that  He, 
whose  whole  life  was  righteousness  and  truth,  and  wliose  proph- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  153 

ecies  have  heen  fulfilling  throngli  all  the  Christian  centimes, 
would  make  such  a  dechiration  if  not  true,  requires  more  faith 
tlian  to  liclievc  in  Him  and  His  miracles.  Then  look  at  the 
result:  He,  a  seemingly  helpless  young  man,  rebuking  the  Kulers 
in  tlie  Temple  ;  and  tliey  seeking  His  life,  and  yet  no  man  laid 
hands  on  Him  ;  because  His  hour  was  not  yet  come.  "And  many 
people  believed  in  Him,  and  asked,  when  Christ  comes  can  He 
do  more  miracles  than  this  Man  hath  done  ?  " 

In  almost  every  attack  of  His  enemies,  Christ  brings  forth 
new  contemporary  proofs  to  be  transmitted  to  future  generations 
that  He  is  the  Christ.  Tlien  how  natural,  and  in  accord  with 
the  acts,  the  scene  which  followed  in  the  Temple;  He  telling 
the  Eulers,  that  shortly  He  would  go  to  Him  who  sent  Him, 
and  they  could  not  find  Him.  And  they  sent  officers  to  arrest 
Him  ;  and  yet,  awed  by  this  helpless  Man^  they  dared  not  touch 
Him  ;  His  enemies  were  continually  worsted  in  all  their  inter- 
views with  Him.  And  He  continued  His  discourse,  and,  for  the 
first  time,  publicly  announced  in  the  Temple  His  approaching 
end,  and  His  return  to  the  Father  who  sent  Him. 

But,  as  they  did  not  believe  He  came  from  God,  neither  did 
they  understand  His  words;  but  supposed  He  would  leave  His 
own  country,  and  go  among  the  Gentiles.  And  He  continued  to 
teach  in  the  Temple,  until  the  octave,  the  last  great  day  of  the 
Feast;  and  as  it  was  the  time  of  the  greatest  solemnity,  and 
when  most  people  were  present,  Christ  stood  there  grandly  con- 
spicuous; and  with  a  loud  voice  cried,  "If  any  thirst  let  Him 
come  unto  Me  and  drink;  he  that  believeth  on  Me,  as  the  Script- 
ure hath  said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water." 
This  is  a  similar  mystery  in  Christ's  woi'ds,  to  all  that  is  seen  in 
His  works,  and  in  all  creation. 

It  was  a  call  to  all  wlio  were  hungering  and  thirsting  aftei- 
righteousness,  and  for  all  who  wanted  that  peace  of  God,  which 
this  world  can  neither  give  nor  take  away.     He  told  them,  as 


ir)4  LIFE    OF    CHRIST 

lie  liud  told  the  Avomau  of  Samnria,  that  the  living  Avatev,  the 
fountain  of  eternal  life,  was  in  Him,  and  would  be  opened  at 
Jerusalem;  but  the  Apostles,  even,  did  not  perceive  the  full 
meaning  of  His  discourse,  until  tlie  Holy  Spirit  came  to  abide. 

Some  of  the  people  were  so  impressed  by  Christ's  words 
that  they  said,  "Of  a  trutli  this  is  tlie  prophet,  others,  that  He 
it  the  Christ;  but  some  said.  Shall  Clirist  come  out  of  Galilee? 
Doth  not  the  Scripture  say,  Christ  cometh  of  the  seed  of  David, 
and  out  of  Bethlehem.  And  there  was  a  division  of  the  people, 
and  some  of  them  would  have  taken  Him,  but  no  man  laid  hands 
on  Him." 

Could  anything  be  raore  reasonable  or  natural  tlum  this, 
were  Christ  the  Messiah?  How  exactly  it  accords  with  the 
whole  Gospel  narrative.  It  is  utterly  impossible  such  a  scene 
could  have  been  imagined,  were  it  not  real.  Only  a  generation 
before  Pie  was  l)oru  in  Bathlehem,  a  notorious  event  at  the  time 
— and  yet  the  people  had  forgotten  it,  or  were  divided  in  opinion; 
and  the  officers  of  the  Jews  had  been  there  several  days  watching 
to  take  Him,  but  dared  not  lay  their  hands  on  Him.  He  was 
Himself  a  perpetual  miracle  before  the  people,  bnt  the  Rulers 
were  too  blind  and  hardened  to  see  it.  When  the  officers  re- 
turned withont  Him,  the  Pharisees  demanded,  "Why  have  ye 
not  brouglit  Him?" 

And  hov/  plainly  we  now  see  the  wisdom  of  Christ  in  this 
whole  scene  in  the  Temple,  and  in  these  notorious  incidents, 
making  these  notorious  enemies  and  their  agents  sent  to  arrest 
Him  unimpeachable  witnesses  for  His  Divine  power  and  wisdom; 
they  could  not  take  Him,  and  they  returned  and  said  to  the 
Rulers, 

"  NEVER    MAN    SPAKE    LIKE    THIS    MAN  !  " 

One  substantial  coniirmation  of  the  truth  of  these  officers' 
words  is, — that  Clu-ist's  words  had  so  overawed  them,  that  this 
Man,  with  no  friends  among  the  Rulers;  and,  were  He  any  other 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  155 

tlmn  tlie  Son  of  Man,  would  Imvo  been  so  helpless  to  resist  their 
authority, — had  not  been  brought  by  them,  but  remained  there 
Lord  of  the  Temple,  They  did  not  plead  want  of  opportunity, 
nor  fear  of  the  multitude,  as  on  a  former  occasion;  but  His  dis- 
course, His  majesty,  and  holiness  repelled  tliem.  They  dared 
not  touch  Him,  nor  say,  you  are  our  prisoner;  their  repoi't  is  a 
confession  for  His  claim,  that  He  is  more  than  man,  and  so  the 
Son  of  God  ;  and  they  preferred  to  return  and  encounter  the  risk 
of  the  anger  of  the  Rulers,  and  the  loss  of  their  office  possibly, 
rather  than  incur  the  danger  of  laying  their  hands  on  Him. 

The  Rulers  asked  the  officers,  if  "  they  also  were  deceived," 
and  had  an}'  of  the  Rulers  or  Pharisees  believed  on  Him,  saying, 
that  the  people  were  cursed  because  they  knew  not  the  Law;  and 
exposing  their  own  ignorance  of  it,  and  justifying  Christ's  con- 
demnation of  them,  because  they  did  not  understand  their  own 
prophecies  concerning  His  birth  in  Bethlehem,  and  His  home  at 
Naza]'eth.  And  here  tlie  timid  Nicodemus,  who  came  to  Jesus 
secretly  at  the  time  of  His  iirst  Passover,  in  Jerusalem,  appears 
again  as  one  of  His  witnesses,  more  believing  and  bold,  and  de- 
mands justice  and  fair  dealing  in  any  proceedings  against  Him. 
This  appearing  of  the  same  person,  under  different  circumstances 
and  yet  with  the  same  characteristics,  is  another  peculiar  proof 
of  the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  the  Gospel  narratives. 


CHAPTER    XXII 


CHRIST'S  RETURN  FROM  JERUSALEM. 


No  record  appears  of  the  way  Christ  went  from  Jesusalem  : 
it  is  another  abrupt  break  in  tlie  Gospel,  like  the  geological 
faults  in  the  earth's  rocky  foundations;  but  He  journeyed  towards 
Capernaum,  teaching  and  working  miracles.  And  near  Bethsaida 
the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  came  and  asked  of  Him  a  sign  from 
Heaven,  as  a  proof  of  His  Messiahship;  and  they  were  as  much 
puzzled  by  His  answer,  as  they  were  on  a  former  occasion  by  the 
sign  of  Jonah.  He  told  them  they  judged  of  the  M'eather  by 
the  aspect  of  the  heavens;  and  they  were  hypocrites  in  asking  a 
sign  from  Him,  when  He  had  wrought  miracles  enough  to  con- 
vince them  of  His  Messiahship,  and  they  were  seeking  a  pretence 
for  rejecting  Him.  And  a  recent  proposal  to  try  God,  by  testing 
prayer  on  the  sick  would  now  receive  a  similar  answer, — because 
He  promised  no  answer  to  prayer  not  offered  in  faith;  prul)al)ly 
they  hoped  His  pride  or  ambition  would  be  moved  to  pro\-e  His 
power,  so  that  they  might  discover  some  legerdemain  by  which 
He  exercised  it.    But  He  gave  them  no  satisfaction,  and  departed. 

In  the  evening  the  disciples  had  forgotten  to  take  bread,  and 
they  reminded  Christ;  and  He  warned  them  to  beware  of  the 
leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  which  they  supposed  referred  to  their 
brejid.    But  He  made  them  undcjrstand,  that  it  was  to  their  seek- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST  157 

ins  visible  sii»;us  to  find  out  if  He  were  the  Christ,  instead  of 
receiving  Him  by  faith.  And  He  reproved  their  weak  faith,  by 
reminding  them  of  tlie  thousands  fed  in  the  wilderness,  and  they 
need  fear  no  lack  of  bread  while  He  was  with  tliem;  and  so  He 
drew  tlicir  minds  from  the  doctrines  of  the  Pharisees,  to  the 
spirit  and  truth  which  He  was  revealing. 

Not  long  after,  Christ  appeared  at  Capernaum  teaching  and 
working  miracles,  but  He  remained  there  a  short  time  ;  and  is 
next  reported  in  Northern  Galilee,  near  Csesarea  Pliilippi,  where 
a  blind  man  was  brought  to  Him  to  touch.  The  man  expressed 
no  faith,  and  asked  no  help;  but  He  took  him  by  the  hand,  led 
him  aside,  put  spit  on  his  ej'es,  and  asked  him  if  he  saw?  And 
he  said,  "Yes,  I  see  men  as  trees  walking;"  and  touching  Him 
again  his  sight  was  restored. 

That  was  an  unusual  act;  and  it  was  a  lesson  to  the  disciples 
that  mercies  may  be  obtained  by  tlie  intercession  of  friends  when 
the  person  has  no  faith,  or  is  indifferent  himself  ;  and  Chiist's 
kindness  in  taking  the  man  b}"  the  hand,  and  touching  his  eyes, 
made  him  feel  that  the  compassionate  Saviour  had  come  and 
opened  his  eyes.  There,  the  curtain  drops;  nothing  is  told  of 
the  impression  on  the  man,  or  of  any  gratitude  ;  so  he  is  a  type 
of  the  multitudes  who  daily  receive  God's  mercies,  and  give  Him 
no  thanks.  And  Clirist  sent  him  home,  and  charged  him  to  tell 
no  one  of  his  recovery  ;  this  command  to  silence,  apparently,  was 
a  gentle  rebuke  for  hia  unthaifkfulness. 

How  long  Christ  continued  there,  and  of  what  He  said  and 
did,  not  much  ie  related  ;  but  the  second  jgs*  of  îlis  ministry 
was  near  its  end,  and  He  spake  often  of  the  end  of  His  eartlily 
life,  as  if  it  weighed  on  His  mind.  And  then  He  asked  the  dis- 
ciples, "Whom  do  men  saj'  that  I,  the  Son  of  Man,  am?" 

It  was  not  curiosity  that  prompted  the  question,  for  He 
knew;  but  an  introduction  to  another  question  to  the  Apostles, 
because  wlien  tlicy  said,  some  called  Him  Elijah,  John  the  Bap- 


15S  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

tist,  or  one  of  tlie  prophets,  He  asked,  "  But  whom  say  ye  tliat  I 
am  ?  "  And  Peter  answered  "  The  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God."  On  a  former  occasion  Peter,  speaking  for  tlic  Apostles, 
said,  "We  believe  and  are  sure,  that  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God;"  but  now  his  faith  had  grown,  no  prefix 
of  belief  and  surety,  but  "Thou  art  the  Son  of  the  living  God." 
Yet  he  meant  no  more  here,  than  on  the  former  confession,  re- 
specting Christ's  divinity;  that  He  was  the  Son  of  God,  not  by 
creation  like  Adam,  but  of  a  higher  type,  the  very  life  of  God 
in  Him. 

And  Christ  said  the  Heavenly  Father  had  revealed  it  to 
Him  ;  and  because  of  this  strong  faith.  He  said,  thou  art  Peter,  a 
rock  in  faith,  and  on  this  Rock,  "  Clirist  the  Son  of  the  living- 
God,"  I  will  Iniild  my  Church  ;  both  the  Old  and  Kew  Testament 
call  Christ  the  Kock;  and  Isaiah  says,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord 
God,  Behold  I  lay  in  Zion  a  foundation  Stone,  a  precious  corner 
stone  ;  "  the  Rock  that  gave  the  Israelites  Avater  in  the  desert  was 
a  type  of  Christ,  and  as  the  Rock  He  led  them  through  tlie  wil- 
derness. And  to  refer  the  Rock  to  Peter  is  a  perversion  of  the 
prophecy,  and  of  Clirist's  interpretation  of  it,  and  of  the  idea  of 
the  kingdom  of  God,  built  on  Him  as  the  Rock  of  Ages  ;  for 
He  imderlies  the  kingdom,  as  granite  nnderlies  and  upholds  the 
kingdom  of  nature  on  onr  globe.  And  He  is  the  rock  against 
which  unbelief  and  persecution  have  beaten  two  thousand  years 
in  vain  ;  it  is  one  of  the  couplings  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment, and  one  of  the  links  of  prophecy  which  prove  Christ  and 
God  are  one. 

The  Church  was  built  on  Christ  ;  it  rests  on  Him  now  ;  and 
St.  Peter  never  either  claimed  or  exercised  authority  over  the 
other  Apostles.  St.  James  presided  over  the  first  Apostolic  Coun- 
cil ;  St.  Paul  relinked  St.  Peter  at  Antioch  for  double  dealing  with 
the  Jews  ;  and  St.  Paul  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  where  it 
is  said  St.  Peter  resided,  but  wh;ch  history  teaches  he  never  saw. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  159 

A  key,  is  a  symbol  of  autliority;  and  wlien  Chi'ist  snid  He 
would  give  it  to  Peter,  it  was  for  the  twelve  Apostles — and  what- 
soever Ye  shall  bind.  He  will  ratify — that  tlierc  might  be  twelve 
lines  of  Apostolic  succession,  against  wliich  the  Gates  of  Hell 
should  not  prevail;  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  prove  that  each 
one  exercised  the  power  in  founding  the  Church,  and  ordaining 
its  rulers. 

Though  Christ  had  been  teaching  tliat  His  kingdom  was  at 
hand,  this  was  the  first  time  He  called  it  the  Churcli, — which  to 
the  Jews  signified  the  separation  of  God's  people  from  the  Gentile 
world.  The  new  covenant  for  entrance  to  it  was  repentance  and 
baptism,  because  of  faith  in  Him;  and  their  future  obligation 
was  to  devote  themselves  to  the  new  Christian  worship,  so  they 
would  be  members  of  Christ,  children  of  God,  and  inheritors  of 
the  kingdona.  Thus  they  were  being  drawn  away  from  the  old 
ceremonial,  and  the  expectations  of  temporal  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments; and  calling  the  Church,  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
kingdom  of  Heaven,  revealed  new  views  of  it,  as  relating  to  the 
kingdom  of  God  in  Heaven.  Thus  gradually  was  Pie  letting  in 
light,  on  tlie  transfer  going  on  from  Judaism  to  Christianity. 

Christ  had  now  trained  His  disciples  into  a  belief  in  His 
Messiahship,  and  made  tliem  perceive  that  tlie  old  kingdom  was 
being  transformed  into  something  new  ;  of  which,  however,  they 
had  as  yet  no  clear  understanding.  And  He  aimed  to  make  the 
Apostles  see  and  feel  the  great  responsibilities  that  would  de- 
volve on  them  after  His  departure,  of  which  He  had  plainly  told 
them. 

And  at  that  time  happened  the  only  instance,  in  which  an 
Apostle  ever  presumed  to  remonstrate  with  Christ — havino-  told 
them  that  He  was  to  suffer  deatli  at  Jerusalem:  Peter  objected, 
and  He  said,  "  Get  tbee  behind  Me,  Satan;  thou  art  an  offence  to 
Me," — the  only  severe  words  He  ever  spake  to  an  Apostle. 
Peter  did  not  know  that  Christ  must  die  before  His  kin«-dom 


160  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

came,  and  he  was  expecting  a  sliare  in  the  glory  of  His  temporal 
kingdijni  ;  and  surely  he  was  not  tlie  Apostle  must  likely  to  be 
chosen,  if  any  sn]>remacy  were  to  be  given  to  an  Apustln. 

In  concluding  this  characteristic  discourse,  our  Lord  renewed 
His  warning  to  them  of  the  hardships  and  perils  they  nuist  endure 
for  His  sake^  and  that  following  Him  was  no  easy  road  to  travel  ; 
but  demanded  self-denial,  self-zestraint,  and  self-sacritice, — even 
unto  death  if  need  be,  for  His  kingdom,  and  their  own  and  the 
world's  salvation. 

Then  His  thoughts  seemed  to  glance  forward  to  tlie  world's 
end,  when  He  said  the  Son  of  Mpn  will  come  in  the  glory  of  His 
Father,  and  judge  the  world.  And  thus  while  speaking  of  His 
death.  He  tijlso  told  them  of  the  glory  whieli  would  come  from 
it,  and  that  some  then  present  would  not  die  until  the}-  had  seen 
His  kingdom  come;  and  this  was  one  grand  step  forward  in 
revealing  Himself  to  His  disciples, — because  wliat  He  had  been 
calling  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  the  kingdom  of  God,  He 
now  calls  His  kingdom,  as  the  Son  of  Man:  that  is,  the  kingdom 
some  of  them  would  live  to  see  come  on  earth,  would  not  have 
its  completion  until  He  comes  to  take  possession  of  it  in  Person, 
— as  the  King  of  Glor3\  This  was  not  understood  by  them,  until 
after  the  Resurrection;  but  it  was  recorded  for  the  consolation 
of  all  His  suffering  disciples,  and  to  encourage  them  to  bear  His 
cross  cheerfully  to  the  end. 


CHAPTER    XXm. 


THE   THIRD    PASSOVER. 


Departint^  from  Northern  Galilee,  Christ  went  tlirough  the 
towns  and  villages  teaching  and  working  miracles,  until  near  the 
end  of  His  second  year's  ministry;  when  He  was  on  His  way  to 
Jerusalem,  to  attend  the  third  Passover,  where  He  arrived 
several  days  before  the  Festival. 

His  abode  was  Bethany  ;  and  coming  from  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  early  in  the  morning,  He  went  to  the  Temple;  and  there 
found  the  Scribes  and  PJuirisees  expecting  Him,  and  intending 
to  entrap  Him  in  His  words,  or  to  discover  the  secret  of  His 
miracles;  and  in  this  interview  He  made  new  revelations  of  His 
power  and  wisdom. 

While  He  was  teaching,  these  enemies  pressed  into  His 
presence,  bringing  a  woman  taken  in  adultery  ;  and  quoting  Moses' 
authority  that  such  sinners  should  be  stoned,  asked,  "What  sayest 
Thou  ?  "  tempting  Him,  to  find  some  accusation  against  Him. 

Their  question  was  a  compliment  to  His  character;  they 
evidently  expected  that  His  clemency  was  so  great,  as  he  had 
forgiven  sinners  unsolicited,  He  would  forgive  her, — and  so  ap- 
prove of  a  violation  of  the  Law,  and  tlie  execution  of  its  penalty  ; 
and  for  tliat  they  could  arraign  Him  before  the  Sanhedrim. 
But  here,  as  always  wliere  His  enemies  expected  to  entrap  Him, 


162  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

He  proved  too  much  for  their  intrigue  and  cunning,  and  turned 
their  attacks  to  their  own  condemnation.  He  liad  before  called 
the  Scribes  and  Pliarisees  a  generation  of  adulterers,  and  now 
He  proved  it.  Apparently  disregarding  their  question  He  stooped 
down  and  wrote  in  the  dust  at  His  feet;  it  is  tlie  only  time  He 
is  said  to  have  written,  and  no  record  remains  of  what  He  Avrote. 
The  (juestioners  preouming  He  did  not  hear,  or  else  being  sure 
of  entrapping  Him,  pressed  their  question;  wlien  He  raised  up 
and  said,  "He  who  is  without  sin  among  you,  let  him  first  cast  a 
stone  at  her."  And  again  He  stooped  down  and  wrote  on  the 
sand  or  dust.  "  And  tliey  who  heard  Him,  being  convicted  by 
their  own  conscience,  went  out  one  l)y  one, — beginning  at  the 
eldest,  even  unto  the  last." 

Hov.-  graphic;  this  scene  is.  How  prol)able  from  what  Christ 
and  history  says  of  society  then.  How  triumphant  the  ])easant 
of  Galilee  appears  in  the  Temple  of  the  Lord,  over  its  earthly 
liulers.  How  perfectly  Muster  of  the  situation.  How  now  it 
assures  us  that  He  was  the  Lord  of  the  Temple.  And  then  look 
at  what  followed:  "And  Jesus  was  left  alone,  and  tlic  woman 
standing  in  the  midst;  raising  up  and  seeing  none  but  the  woman, 
He  asked,  Where  are  those  thine  accusers?  Hath  no  man  con- 
demned thee?  Slie  said:'  No  man.  Lord.  And  Jesus  said  unto 
her.  Neither  do  I  condemn  thee:  go,  and  sin  no  more." 

Jesus  spake  as  her  God  and  Judge,  "Neither  do  1  condemn 
thee."  What  presumption  and  deception,  were  He  not  the  Son 
of  Man.  Plow  certain  these  incidents  prove  Him  the  Son  of 
God,  when  He  challenged  these  .enemies  to  accuse  Him  of  un- 
truth, or  an}"  sin.  These  Pliarisees  had  come  to  see  tJie  Moman 
condemned,  and  to  have  Christ  accused;  but  l)oth  were  acquitted 
and  the  enemies  convicted  by  their  withdrawal.  They  were 
hard  hearted,  the  woman  was  not  only  penitent,  l)ut  believed 
in  Christ  for  she  called  Him  Lord;  and  she  was  foi-given  on 
condition  tliat  she  sinned  no  more..    He  proved  Himself  here, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST  163 

as  elscwlicre,  tlic  friend  of  sinners  wlio  believed  in  Ilim  and 
repented. 

The  following  day  Christ  appeared  in  the  Temple  again, 
and  taught  in  the  Ti-ensury,  saying,  "I  am  the  Liglit  of  the 
World,''  and  whoever  followed  Him  shall  not  walk  in  darkness. 
This  was  an  astonishing  de<*laration  of  Himself  as  the  Messiah, 
to  the  people  and  the  Scriljes  and  Pharisees,  who  knew  from 
their  sacred  writings  that  Light  is  one  of  the  Divine  titles;  an.l 
the  Psalmist  applied  it  to  Christ,  "The  Lord  is  my  Light,  and 
my  salvation;"  and  God  is  the  Lord,  who  hath  showed  us  Light. 

And  they  knew  also  that  Isaiah  had  foretold  what  they  had 
seen  and  heard  M'as  going  on  in  Galilee,  if  they  would  not  admit 
it  of  Judea  and  Jerusalem,  that  the  people  who  walked  in  dark- 
ness had  seen  a  great  Light." 

But  how  mueh  more  astounding  to  us,  that  the  Light,  wliieh 
then  shined  in  darkness  from  the  Sun  of  Pighteousness,  has  been 
increasing  in  splendor,  and  spreading  over  the  earth,  until  it  lias 
tilled  the  whole  horizon  of  time,  and  made  Christendom  the 
glory  of  our  world. 

But  the  judicially  blind  Pharisees  could  not  see  the  Light, 
and  complained  that  He  bore  record  of  Himself;  and  this  again 
led  Him  to  a  clearer  confession  of  His  Divine  origin,  as  if  He 
were  truly  anxious  to  dispel  their  blindness  and  unbelief.  They 
said  His  record  was  not  true,  because  the  Law  required  two  wit- 
nesses to  establish  a  fact  in  Court.  His  answer  is  a  subtle  argu- 
ment for  His  Messiahship,  and  two-fold  nature,  both  God  and 
Man.  And  this  was  the  drift  of  His  whole  discourse  ;  "I  bear 
record;  I  know  whence  I  came,  as  the  Son  of  God;  I  know 
whither  I  go,  as  the  Son  of  Man.  Here  are  the  two  witnesses  re- 
quired by  the  Law;  but  you  are  blind,  and  do  not  see  whence  I 
came  nor  whither  I  go, — because  ye  judge  after  the  flesh,  only 
what  is  seen  and  known  by  your  animal  nature. 

And  then  to  make  them  more  excuseless  for  their  unljclief. 


164  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

He  said  His  jn(1g:mcnt  is  true,  l)ceause  it  is  coupled  witli  tlio 
Fatliei-'s;  I  bear  witness  of  Myself,  and  the  Fatlicr  beareth  Mn't- 
ness  of  me.  And  the_y  saw  in  Ilis  works  God's  witness  to  Him; 
tliey  donbtless  had  heard  of  the  Father's  witness  to  Him,  at  His 
baptism;  and  they  would  hear  it  agaui  in  the  Temple  l)efore  an 
other  Passover. 

The  saying  that  His  judgment  is  true,  had  more  meaning 
than  is  apparent;  it  is  so  true  that  all  who  are  judged  l)y  Him 
in  this  life,  or  the  life  to  eome,  will  admit  His  judgment  to  be 
l)oth  true  and  just;  for  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  the  human  mind 
to  conceive  of  any  other  way  by  which  the  millions  of  mankind 
would  be  judged  so  fairly,  and  so  as  to  remove  all  possibility  of 
injustice,  all  possibility  of  error  in  judgment,  and  to  silence  all 
fear  or  complaint  on  those  M'ho  are  judged,  as  this  which  the 
wisdom  of  God  devised  ;  in  committing  it  to  the  Son  of  Man,  who 
is  the  Son  of  God,  and  so  brings  all  the  wisdom  of  God,  with  all 
the  experience  of  man,  to  niake  His  judgment  pcrfec^t. 

This  testimony  of  Christ  did  not  remove  their  blindness,  nor 
carnal  views;  and  they  returned  His  efforts  to  teach  them  with 
what  was  intended  as  a  scoff,  "Where  is  Thy  Father?"  And 
then  looking  at  the  hopelessness  of  their  unbelief  He  said,  "Ye 
neither  know  Me  nor  My  Father:"  thus  reiterating  His  unity 
with  the  Father,  and  His  Divine  origin  as  the  Christ,  whom  they 
would  not  know,  He  left  them.  And  though  they  longed  to  lay 
hands  on  Him,  they  could  not,  which  ought  to  have  convinced 
them  of  the  truth  of  His  words;  but  it  did  not,  for  the  next  day, 
apparently,  they  had  again  come  to  the  Temple,  and  find  Him 
teaching.  AVe  know  not  how  many  days  He  taught  in  the  Tem- 
ple, but  on  the  last  gre;it  day  tliere  was  a  mighty  contest  between 
truth  and  error,  as  tiie  one  was  in  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  other 
in  His  l)lin(k(l,  chosen  people;  Christ  reasoning  to  persuade  them 
to  believe  in  Hiu),  and  the  Rulers  parrying  His  arguments,  and 
continuing  their  unbelief, — hardening  their  hearts  as  Pharaoh 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  1C5 

and  the  Egyptians  did,  when  Moses  appeared  and  delivered  their 
ancestors  from  hondage. 

Christ  tohl  them,  in  a  mysterious  way,  of  His  approacjhing 
death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  to  Heaven;  and  that  they 
would  die  in  their  sins,  and  could  never  follow  Him  there.  And 
they  pretended  they  did  not  understand  His  words,  and  asked 
sarcastically  if  He  would  kill  Plimself  ;  but  He  renewed  His 
testimony  concerning  Himself,  that  He  is  not  of  this  world,  and 
therefore  is  the  Clu-ist  from  God,  as  Isaiah  foretold,  Immanuel, 
God  with  us, — and  if  they  do  not  believe  "  I  am  He,"  they  will 
die  in  their  sins.  Yet  they  persist  in  pretending  to  misunder- 
stand Him,  and  ask  again,  "  Who  art  Tliou  ?  " 

His  ansAver  was:  the  same  as  I  have  declared  to  you  all 
along  f]'om  the  beginning;  and  then  assuming  His  offi(?e  as 
Teacher  from  God,  and  Judge  as  the  Son  of  Man,  that  is  wlio 
I  am  ;  one  from  the  true  God,  to  deliver  you  from  bondage  to 
unbelief  and  sin,  and  tell  you  truth  from  God,  things  I  heard  in 
Heaven;  yet  they  did  not  understand  Him. 

Then  He  foretold,  that,  when  they  had  crucified  Him,  then 
they  would  understand  that  He  is  the  Christ;  that  Ho  had  come 
from  their  Father,  tmd  had  done  His  work, — showing  them  the 
unity  of  His  M'ill  with  the  Father's;  and  this  made  some  believe  in 
Him.  And  He  said  to  those  who  believed,  "  If  ye  continue  in 
My  words,  then  are  ye  My  disciples  indeed;"  doubtless  said,  be- 
cause some  who  had  followed  Him  a  little  while  before,  had  turned 
away  and  left  Him,  because  His  doctrines  respecting  Himself 
were  too  hard  for  their  faith  ;  but  if  they  continued  steadfast  the 
truth  would  make  them  free  from  bondage  to  the  flesh  and  sin. 
The  unbelieving  Jews  interrupted  Him,  saying,  "  We  are  Abra- 
liam's  seed,  and  never  were  in  bondage  to  any  man,"  so  would  not 
be  to  His  teachings.  And  He  said  their  b(jndage  was  to  the  devil. 
And  assuming  His  authority  as  a.  teacher  come  from  God,  He 
said,  "Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  whoever  commits  sin,  is 


166  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

the  servant  of  sin;"  and  lie  made  those  enemies  see  that  Ho 
knew  their  sins  and  malicious  intentions  towards  Him,  "because 
My  words  liave  no  phice  in  you  ;  "  and  if  they  were  Abraliam's 
seed  they  wouki  not  seek  to  kill  Him.  But  they  renewed  their 
claim  as  Abraham's  posterity,  and  Christ  accused  thom  of  hypoc- 
risy, in  doing  so  differently  from  what  Abraham  did  when  God 
tried  his  faith  ;  otherwit^e  they  would  love,  and  not  hate  Him, 
f(»r  telling  them  the  truth,  and  trying  to  bring  them  to  repent- 
ance and  salvation. 

And,  with  a  rebuke,  tliat  must  have  aroused  their  deepest 
indignation.  He  declared  that  neither  God  nur  Abraham,  but 
the  devil  was  their  father;  he  was  a  liar  and  nuirderer  from  the 
beginning,  and  "his  lusts  ye  will  do;"  and  to  nudce  tliem  forever 
witness  for  Him,  and  against  themselves.  He  declared  Himself 
the  Holy  One  of  God.  Kever  befoje  had  Christ  so  plainly  de- 
clared His  Messiahship  to  His  enemies,  or  spoken  such  severe 
rebukes  to  them;  and  because  He  saw  His  words  oidy  hardened 
their  hearts.  He  asked,  "Which  of  you  convinceth  me  of  sin?" 
Smarting  as  these  enemies  were  under  the  stinging  provocation 
of  the  ac(;usation  that  they  were  children  of  the  devil,  the  father 
of  liars  and  nuu'derers.  He  challenged  them  to  return  His  accu- 
sation if  they  could  !  And  certain  it  is,  that,  if  there  had  been 
one  stain  on  His  whole  life,  one  single  error  in  His  doctrines, 
one  act  of  what  men  call  dishonor,  not  to  say  sin,  known  by  the 
hundreds  of  thousands,  who  had  heard  His  teaching,  or  one  act 
(.>f  fraud  in  His  ndracles,  that  these  persons  would  have  known 
it,  îind  not  let  the  provoking  challenge  pass  without  pointing  it 
out.  Ihit  inst(uid  of  accusing  Him  of  sin,  their  very  rage  was 
testimony  for  Him:  "Say  we  not  wxll  that  Thou  ait  a  Samaritan 
and  hast  a  devil?"  lie  denied  this  charge,  said  that  Jle  hon- 
ored God,  and  they  dishonored  Him,  and  that  He  sought  not 
His  own  glory;  yet  to  remit  not  one  iota  of  His  claim,  He  re- 
Viumed  His  Divine  authority  as  a  Teacher  from  God. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  167 

"Yerily,  verily,  I  sny  unto  you,  if  a  man  keep  my  sayings 
he  shall  never  die;"  that  is,  if  he  believes  and  obeys  he  will 
have  that  eternal  life  that  the  second  death  and  Hell  can  never 
touch.  To  this  His  enemies  replied,  "Now  we  know  Tliou  hast 
a  devil,"  because  the  saints  are  dead.  "Art  thou  greater  than 
our  father  Abraham  ?  " 

In  answering  this  question,  our  Lord's  testimony  of  Himself 
reached  its  grand  climax.  He  had  tried  in  various  ways  to  make 
them  see  and  feel  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  ecpial  with  the 
Father  ;  and  when  all  else  had  failed,  He  made  that  unmistakable 
claim,  that  no  learned  Jew  could  possibly  misunderstand; — that 
He  whom  you  claim  as  your  God  is  My  Father,  that  He  was  be- 
fore Abraham,  and  he  rejoiced  to  see  His  day;  and  with  tiie  aw- 
ful solemnity  of  His  "Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,"  He  applied 
to  Himself  the  ineffiablc  title  of  the  one  only  living,  eternal  and 
true  God,  the  "I  AM;"  and  the  enemies  understood  this,  and 
they  left  us  the  testitnony  that  they  did  understand  it  ;  and  did  not 
believe  it,  because  they  took  up  stones  to  cast  at  Him.  And  He 
gave  them  that  new  proof  that  His  words  were  true,  and  He  is 
God,  because  no  stone  hit  Him,  no  injury  was  done  Him;  but 
passing  through  the  throng,  which  luul  been  hanging  wrapt  with 
His  power  and  wisdom.  He  left  the  Temple  and  disappeared 
from  Jerusalem. 


f-^QQim^'^ 


■^^r 


,-V1~^ 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE   TRANSFIGURATION. 

Leaving  Jerusalem  after  the  Passover,  Christ  and  His  disci- 
ples went  towards  Galilee,  and  entering  a  village  they  saw  a 
lilind  man  on  the  wayside,  begging.  He  was  born  blind,  and  a 
well-known  person  in  the  vicinity;  and  Christ  made  an  ointment 
of  clay  with  spittle,  and  pnt  it  on  His  eyes,  and  told  him  to  go 
wash  in  the  pool  of  Siloam;  and  he  went  and  washed,  and  came 


Tills  caused  the  disciples  to  ask  a  question,  showing  the 
popular  Jewish  belief,  and  which  none  but  God  could  answer, 
"  Who  did  sin,  this  man  or  his  parents,  that  He  was  born  blind  ?  " 
He  answered,  neither;  but  that  God's  will  might  be  done  by  Him 
in  the  miracle;  and  it  opened  the  way  for  a  further  revelation 
of  His  Messiahsliip  to  His  disciples,  and  Rulers  of  the  Jews,  and 
concerning  His  departure  from  this  world.  He  said,  "As  long 
as  I  am  in  the  world,  I  am  the  Light  of  the  world,"  which  was  a 
mystery  of  God  and  science  tliat  none  but  He  then  knew;  for 
modern  investigation  has  revealed  the  mystery  of  the  triple  ele- 
ments the  symbols  of  the  Godhead  in  sunlight,  and  the  fact  that 
all  animal  and  vegetable  life  are  sustained  by  it — God's  agent  to 
2;ive  life  here — and  so  a  type  of  Christ,  and  His  eternal  life 


giving  salvation. 


The  Psalmist  foretold  that  at  Christ's  coming, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST  169 

men  would  "see  the  Li,i>lit;"  and  St.  John  said,  that  Clirist 
lighteth  every  man  who  conietli  into  the  world  ;  having  brought 
life  and  inunortalitj  to  light. 

When  the  Pharisees  heard  of  the  miracle,  they  had  the 
man  brought  to  them  ;  and  they  asked  him,  how  he  received  his 
sight  ?  He  told  them  :  and  mej  said,  "  this  Man  is  not  of  God, 
because  He  does  not  keep  the  Sabbath."  But  some  friends  of 
Christ  present,  asked:  "How  can  a  man,  who  is  a  sinner,  do 
such  miracles  ?  " 

This  shows  that  the  friends  and  foes  admitted  that  the 
miracle  was  wrought,  and  elicited  the  confession  of  some  that 
Christ  was  immaculate  ;  so  the  investigation  brought  out  new 
testhnony  to  His  Messiahship,  and  the  genuiness  of  the  miracle. 
Again  the  man  was  asked,  what  he  thought  of  CJirist  ? 
And  he  said  "He  is  a  Prophet."  Then  the  enemies  called  tlie 
man's  parents,  and  asked  them  if  he  were  their  son  who  was 
"  born  blind,  and  how  then  doth  he  now  see  ?  "  And  by  their 
unbelief  they  elicited  new  testimony  for  Christ  ;  the  parents 
said,  "  We  know  he  is  our  son,  and  was  born  blind  ;  he  is  of  age, 
ask  him."  They  so  answered,  because  they  feared  the  Jews 
would  cast  them  out  of  the  Synagogue.  Thus  the  two  king- 
doms were  coming  in  conflict,  and  the  strife  of  the  sword  Christ 
came  to  bring  was  unsheathed — never  again  to  rest  in  its  scab- 
bard until  He  comes  again  ;  but  then,  as  ever  since,  all  opposition 
to  Him,  only  adduced  new  proofs  of  His  Divine  nature. 

The  Pharisees  told  the  man  to  "  give  God  the  praise  " — this 
confessed  the  miracle  genuine  ;  and  the  reason  given  was,  "  We 
know  that  this  man  is  a  sinner."  And  thus  they  proved  what 
Christ  said  of  them,  two  days  before  in  the  temple, — that  they 
were  "lying  children  of  the  devil;"  because  He  had  then  chal- 
lenged them  to  accuse  Him  of  sin,  and  they  did  not,  because 
they  could  not.  And  it  looks  as  if  nothing  but  the  wisdom  of 
God  could  have  so  planned  it,  as  to  make  this  testimony  of 


n/>  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Christ's  enemies  prove  Him  to  be  tlie  Christ  of  God,  whom 
they  were  rejecting. 

The  man  annoyed  by  their  impertinence  and  nnbelicf, 
sarcasticall}'  asked  tliem,  if  they  wanted  to  hear  more  about  the 
miracle  in  order  to  become  Christ's  disciples. 

And  they  reviled  Him,  and  saicfthey  "  were  Moses  disciples, 
and  knew  God  spake  to  Moses:  but  as  for  this  Man,  we  know 
not  whence  lie  is.  And  tlie  man  replied  with  the  unanswerable 
ai'o-ament,  "We  know  God  lieareth  not  sinners;  since  the 
world  began  it  was  not  heard  that  any  man  opened  the  eyes  of 
one  born  blind!  If  this  Man  were  not  of  God,  He  could  do 
nothing." 

They  were  mastered  in  logic,  but  they  cast  him  out  of  the 
Synagogue  ;  and  he  became  the  first  one  of  the  great  army  of 
Confessors  for  Christ,  whose  names  have  been  cast  out  for 
believing  in  Him,  from  that  day  to  this.  Christ  heard  it,  and 
sought  the  man,  and  asked  him  :  "  If  he  believed  in  the  Son  of 
God?"  And  he  asked,  "Who  is  He  that  I  might  believe  in 
llim  ?  And  Christ  confessed  Himself  to  Him?  and  He  said, 
"  LORD,  I  believe;  and  he  Avorshipped  Him."  And  this  was 
not  that  Oriental  reverence,  customary  to  be  shown  to  Rulers 
and  distinguished  persons, — but  the  worship  and  adoration,  which 
came  from  his  faith  and  love,  and  gratitude  for  wdiat  Christ  had 
done  for  Him. 

A  nndtitude  were  present,  at  this  interview  between  Christ 
and  tlie  man,  and  some  were  the  ubiquitous  Pharisees,  and 
Christ  renewed  His  instruction  to  tliem.  "  For  judgment  am 
I  come  into  tliis  world,  tliat  they  who  see  not  might  see  ;  and 
tliey  who  see,  might  be  made  blind."  It  was  a  further  revelation 
of  Himself,  that  He  had  (;ome  from  the  Father  in  Heaven  to  do 
His  work  ;  and  a  wai'iiing  to  them  of  tlie  penalty  for  their  spiritual 
blindness,  because  seeing  His  miracles,  they  would  not  sec  Hint, 
as  the  Christ. 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  171 

Tliey  saw  the  application  ;  and,  nettled  by  it,  sought  further 
controvei'sey  witli  Him,  asking,  "Are  M-e  blind  also?"  And 
He  answered,  "If  ye  were  blind  ye  would  have  no  sin;  but 
now  ye  say,  we  see,  tlierefore  your  sin  reniaineth."  AVhile  it 
warned  them  for  blinding  their  minds  against  Him,  as  their 
God  and  Saviour,  it  drew  from  Him  words  full  of  comfort  and 
consolation  for  all  who  do  not  sin  wilfully,  for  He  will  pardon 
them. 

Christ's   transfiguration. 

Leaving  the  place  wliere  the  blind  man  was  restored,  our 
Lord  went  on  His  way  to  Capernaum;  and  as  they  wont  He 
told  the  disciples,  that  they  would  live  to  see  His  kingdom  come 
with  power.  They  did  not  understand  His  words,  until  tlie 
Holy  Ghost  came. 

St.  Luke  says,  it  was  about  eight  ihiys  after  that  discourse, 
that  the  Transfiguration  occurred;  and  that  Christ  led  the  three 
Apostles  chosen  to  witness  it  into  a  mountain  to  pray.  Neither 
one  of  the  Apostles  mention  tlie  locality  except  St.  Peter,  and 
he  calls  it  the  Holy  Mount;  and  if  it  Vi^ere  Mount  Tabor,  He 
would  have  ample  time  to  make  the  journey,  and  to  teach  and 
work  miracles  by  the  way. 

The  three  A])0stles,  chosen  as  witnesses  of  this  supernatural 
scene,  were  our  Lord's  favorites,  who  were  present  wlien  He 
first  raised  the  dead  child,  and  manifested  His  power  over 
death;  they  were  now  called  to  ])ehold  His  glory  as  the  Son 
of  God,  recognized  by  the  Father's  voice  from  Heaven  ;  as 
they  afterwards  witnessed  His  agony,  as  tlie  Son  of  Man  in 
Gethsemane. 

We  do  not  know  if  His  human  nature  expected  tliis  mani- 
festation. He  had  recently  told  the  Apostles  of  His  approaching 
death;  and  tlie  retire:nent  for  praj'er  may  have  been  because  of 
His  mental  dL]M'!^s<i..n.  The  scene  is  represented  as  sudden  and 
iincxisc'.-icd  ;  and  il  looks  as  if  tlie  Fatlier  came  to  acknowleda'e 


172  LIFE    OF    CHRIST 

Ilini,  and  reveal  to  His  Imniaiiity  tlie  giôvy  awaiting  Him,  to 
comi'ort  and  support  Ilim. 

Willie  He  prayed,  suddenly  the  appearance  of  Plis  counten- 
ance changed,  He  was  overohadowed  with  the  brightness,  and 
His  garments  glistened  with  the  glory  of  the  F'ather's  presence  ; 
and  two  Saints  from  Paradise  were  visible,  in  their  spiritual 
bodies.  Moses  had  been  dead  fifteen  centuries;  the  other  called 
Elias,  His  messenger,  the  Baptist,  but  two  years;  and  they 
talked  with  Christ,  respecting  His  departure  from  this  world, 
and  told  His  humanity  of  the  glory  death  brings  the  Saints,  to 
comfort  Him  under  the  painful  prospects  of  death,  from  Avhich 
His  holy  human  nature  must  hav^e  shrank,  with  an  intenser  feel- 
ing than  we  do.  For  although  He  knew  His  body  would  never 
see  corruption.  He  knew  also  that  death  is  the  penalty  for  sin; 
and  His  death  was  to  bear  the  burden  of  the  world's  sin. 

The  two  Saints  present  Avere  to  be  His  forernnners  to  Para- 
dise. The  Baptist  had  performed  that  office  on  earth;  and  he  was 
called  Elijah,  because,  like  the  Tishbite,  he  shunned  men,  lived 
in  the  wilderness,  wore  the  rough  garment  of  a  prophet,  and 
was  the  reprover  of  a  king;  and  he  had  gone  before  Christ  in 
martyrdom  to  Paradise,  and  now  he  was  honored  hj  God,  with 
this  permission  to  return  to  this  world,  and  witness  this  triumph- 
al scene  in  his  Lord's  life,  and  to  announce  His  coming  before 
long  to  preach  to  the  Saints  in  Paradise.     (1  Peter,  iii:19.) 

The  Apostles,  wearied  with  their  long  journey,  fell  asleep, 
<i-hile  Christ  prayed  and  the  transfiguration  was  going  on.  But 
they  awoke  before  it  closed,  and  were  overwhelmed  with  the 
brightness  of  His  garments,  and  the  gdory  of  His  person,  and  of 
the  two  men  present.  How  much  of  this  was  for  Christ's  com- 
fort, and  how  much  for  the  Apostles  instruction,  we  know  not. 

But,  as  the  saints  departed,  the  xVpostles  were  bewildered; 
and  St.  Peter,  always  prompt  on  every  occasion,  said,  "Master, 
let  us  make  here  three  Tabernacles;  one  for  Thee,  one  for  Moses, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  173 

and  one  for  Elias,'"'  Tlioni!;li  he  did  not  know  what  he  said,  yet 
the  words  were  not  meaningless,  l)nt  evidentl}^  inspired;  because 
they  give  significance  to  the  Transfiguration.  When  Moses  went 
into  the  Mount  to  receive  authority  from  God,  his  first  act  M'as 
to  l)uild  the  Tabernacle,  and  that  was  the  beginning  of  tiie  or- 
ganization of  God's  kingdom,  or  Church,  for  the  Hebrews;  and 
in  this  way  they  afterwards  saw,  that  the  new  kingdom  of  God 
came  through  Christ.  When  Moses  received  his  authority  to  be- 
gin His  work,  as  he  came  down  from  the  Mount,  his  face  was 
radiant  with  the  glory  of  God  which  had  shone  on  him;  but 
Christ's  person  and  garments  shone  like  the  Sun. 

There  was  also  a  significancy  in  the  meeting  of  these  three 
persons, — Moses  was  there  as  the  representative  of  the  Law, 
there  to  transfer  its  Tabernacle  to  the  Sanctuary  of  Christ's 
kingdom;  Elias,  or  the  Baptist,  was  there  as  the  representative 
of  the  Transition  period, — the  passing  of  the  Law  over  to  the 
Gospel;  and  Christ  Avas  there  as  the  Head  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  to  pitch  the  Tabernacle  of  God  among  men,  which  was  to 
last  to  the  world's  end,  and  carry  on  His  work  of  salvation. 

While  St.  Peter  was  yet  speaking  of  the  Tabernacles,  the 
Father's  voice  sounded  out  from  the  fiery  cloud,  saying,  "This 
is  My  Beloved  Son  in  Whom  I  am  well  pleased.  Hear  Him." 
Thus  the  Father  transferred  the  dispensations  of  Moses  and  the 
Baptist  to  Christ;  this  was  God's  commandment  to  them,  which 
they  were  to  teach  the  world.  When  the  disciples  heard  God's 
voice,  it  was  to  them  as  the  thunders  of  Sinai  were  to  the  people, 
when  the  Law  was  delivered, — they  were  teirified  and  fell  on 
their  face;  but  Christ  came  and  touched  tliem,  and  they  arose 
and  found  thcmselvx^s  alone  with  Him  ;  and  He  charged  them  to 
tell  no  man  of  the  vision,  until  the  Son  of  Man  was  risen  from 
the  dead.  And  it  looks  as  if  Christ's  human  nature  tlien  had 
first  revealed  to  it,  not  only  a  vision  of  His  spiritual  body  which 
He  saw  in  the  Saints,  but  also  the  glory  which  would  fill  His 


174  LIFE    OF    ClfRlST. 

liamau  1><)(ly,  after  its  resurrection,  and  ascension,  and  «^-lorifica- 
tion  in  tlio  Godhead.  The  necessity  for  tlie  conccahnent  of  thi:i 
is  plain, — it  was  an  intimation  of  the  ])assing  over  of  the  Law 
and  kingdom  of  Israel,  to  Christ's  Gospel  and  kingdom  ;  and  the 
revelation  of  the  purpose  would  have  caused  His  inunediate  ar- 
rest and  crucifixion. 

Christ  had  recently  told  the  Apostles  of  His  coming  death, 
now  lie  showed  them  the  glory  which  would  follow  it  in  Para- 
dise, and  assured  them  of  His  resurrection  from  death;  and  tliat 
they  would  be  alive  to  see  Him  after  it,  because  then  they  might 
report  His  Transfiguration.  And  we  learn  from  this,  that  the 
Saints  in  Paradise  have  glorified  spiritual  bodies;  and  that  they 
not  only  know  what  is  going  on  in  this  world,  but  that  it  is  pos- 
sible for  them  to  appear  here, — but  impossible  for  mortals  to 
comnumicate  with  them,  for  Moses  and  Elias  talked  only  with 
Christ. 

And  the  question  the  Apostles  asked  Christ,  why  the  Scribes 
say  that  Elias  must  come  l)efore  Christ,  as  it  was  answered  by 
Him,  warrants  the  interpretation,  that  the  Elias  at  the  Transfig- 
uration was  John  the  Baptist;  because  He  never  speaks  of  any 
other  Elias.  And  in  this  case  declared  that  he  had  come,  and  had 
])een  martyred  ;  and  He,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  would  likewise  suf- 
fer. Moses  had  led  the  Israelites  out  of  bondage,  through  the 
Red  Sea;  Christ  would  deliver  the  Avorld  from  bondage  thi'tiugh 
His  blood,  and  bring  all  believers  in  Him  into  the  glorious  lib- 
erty of  the  Saints  in  Paradise,  and  children  of  God  in  Heaven. 

Christ  said,  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  were  until  John, 
then  salvation  could  be  had  by  repentance  and  faith  in  Christ; 
and  now  that  transition  way  of  salvation  was  passing  away,  John 
had  departed,  and  Christ's  kingdom  was  coming;  and  the  Trans- 
fio-m'ation  helped  to  confirm  the  Apostles  faith  and  trust  in  Christ 
— and  to  hear,  believe,  and  ol)ey  whatever  He  told  them  to  do; 
because  after  St.  John  was  permitted  to  speak  of  it,  he  said, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST  175 

""We  bfheld  His  glory  as  the  i^lory  of  tlie  only  begotten  of 
the  Father;''  and  of  all  the  wonders,  and  glories  of  our  L  )rd's 
earthly  life,  tliere  is  nothing  more  wonderful  than  this;  nothing 
up  to  that  time  that  so  assured  the  Apostles  of  immortality  be- 
yond death,  and  of  the  glory  whicli  awaits  tlie  righteous  beyond 
it.  The  Baptist,  as  Christ's  Forerunner,  had  already  reported 
there  wliat  lie  had  done  on  earth  ;  and  now  he  and  Moses  re- 
turned to  tell  the  Saints  that  He  would  soon  finish  His  mission 
to  the  earth,  and  be  with  them  in  the  spirit  in  Paradise. 

As  the  Apostles  then  first  understood  that  the  Elias  of 
Prophecy  was  not  Elijah  the  Tishbite,  so  also  did  they  then  first 
learn,  that  the  Elijah  there  present  was  John  the  Baptist:  and 
Christ  gave  them  some  further  instruction,  telling  them  the  ob- 
ject of  John's  coming  was  to  restore  all  things;  by  restoration, 
lie  meant  to  restore  the  spirituality  of  the  Law,  the  necessity  of 
faith  and  repentance  for  salvation,  which  had  been  over-ridden 
by  the  traditions  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  that  He  would 
finally  suffer  a  violent  death  as  John  had. 


à-9   »-{ 


CHAPTER    XXV. 


AFTER  THE  TRANSFIGURATION. 


After  tlie  Transfigui-ation,  Christ  and  the  three  Apostles 
remained  all  night  in  the  mountain,  and  when  they  came  down 
they  found  the  Scribes  and  Pliarisees  questioning  the  other 
Apostles,  and  all  the  people  came  running  to  meet  Him  ;  and 
there  was  another  of  those  marvellous  scenes,  so  often  witnessed 
during  His  ministry. 

Those  enemies  liad  taken  advantage  of  Christ's  absence  to 
interview  the  Apostles,  to  try  and  find  out  by  what  necromanc}' 
or  demoniacal  power  they  wrought  miracles;  and  when  CJirist 
came,  He  asked  them  what  they  had  been  discussing  with  tlie 
Scribes  and  Pliarisees  ?  And  before  they  could  answer,  a  man 
came  kneeling  down  to  Him,  saying,  "  Have  mercy  on  n)y  son, 
he  is  a  lunatic,  and  hath  a  dumb  spirit,  and  he  taketh  liim, 
teareth  him,  and  he  crieth  out,  and  foameth  and  gnasheth  witli 
his  teeth,  and  pinetli  away  ;  and  I  spake  to  Thy  disciples  tu  cast 
him  out,  and  tliL-y  could  not."  And  here,  again,  the  attempt  of 
Christ's  enemies  to  prove  fraud  resulted  in  increasing  His  fame. 

It  was  the  first  time  that  the  xVpostle::  liad  failed  to  work  a 
miracle,  and  while  Christ  was  absent  His  enemies  hoped  to 
discover  the  cause  of  their  failure,  and  solve  the  mystery  of  His 
power;    but  their  faihire  was  His  opportunity  to  sliow  wlience 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST  177 

their  power  came,  and  that  it  never  failed  H  in;.  He  said  to  the 
man,  all  tilings  are  possible  to  him  who  l)e]'cvcth  ;  and  he  cried 
out  "  Lord  I  believe,  help  Thou  mine  unbelief.'''  And  on  tiiat  con- 
fession, He  rebuked  the  Evil  Spii'it  who,  throwing  the  child 
down,  came  out  of  liim;  and  the  child  was  as  one  dead j  but 
Christ  raised  him  up  and  lie  was  well. 

Christ  had  recently  told  the  Apostles  of  His  death,  and  His 
absence  had  weakened  their  faith,  and  they  could  not  heal  the 
child;  so  there  was  a  lesson  for  the  disciples  and  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  as  well  for  His  disciples  for  all  time,  that  prayers 
offered  for  children  in  faith  will  pi'evail.  But  the  disciples  were 
too  dull  to  perceive,  that  their  power  depended  as  much  on  their 
faith,  as  the  healing  did  on  the  faith  of  the  afHicted  ;  so  when 
they  came  into  the  house  they  asked,  "  Wliy  could  not  we  cast 
him  out?"  And  He  said,  because  of  their  unbelief,  and  neglect 
of  prayer  and  fasting  ;  He  had  prescribed  no  fasts,  but  they  had 
probably  neglected  those  of  the  Jewish  Church. 

And  then,  as  if  their  particular  unlielief  was  respecting  His 
death.  He  renewed  the  declaration,  saying:  "The  Son  of  Man 
is  delivered  into  tlie  hands  of  men,  and  they  shall  kill  Him;  and 
after  He  is  killed  He  shall  rise  the  third  day."  And  this  was 
the  third  time  Christ  had  spuken  of  His  death  and  resurrection 
within  a  few  weeks;  its  nearness  apparently  was  weighing  upon 
His  mind.  He  mysteriously  revealed  to  the  Scril)es  and  Phari- 
sees by  the  sign  of  Jonali,  that  He  would  be  three  days  in  the 
tomb;  but  He  plainly  declared  it  tu  His  disciples.  Yet  they 
understood  not  His  words,  and  were  afraid  to  ask  Him;  but 
after  His  rcsuri-ection  they  saw  ho\v  His  death  was  a  preijaratiun 
for  His  kingdom,  and  it  helped  them  to  believe  in  Him,  as  tlie 
second  pei-son  of  the  Godhead,  as  it  has  ever  since  assured  men 
of  it. 

This  narrative  carries  probability  on  its  face,  as  well  as 
has  internal  evidence  of  it  in    every   feature,   and  is  in  perfect 

12 


\ 

178  LIFEOFCHRIST 

harmony  with  the  Gospel  rovchition  ;  there  is  no  otlier  example 
like  it  in  the  annals  of  mankind.  And  to  believe  it  a  story  inven- 
ted, is  to  ascribe  more  genius  to  the  authors  than  was  evt-i* 
shown  by  any  otlier  men  ;  and  to  believe  that  three  Evangelists 
conspirc<l  to  lie  about  it,  requires  more  faith  tlian  to  believe  the 
miracle.  Tliere  was  no  concert,  because  each  one  relates  the 
scene  differently,  and  they  confess  their  own  unl)elief  and  dull- 
ness ;  and  if  there  is  anythiui;' that  can  be  believed  on  human 
testimony,  that  was  a  real  seene,  that  took  place  when  the  Son 
of  God  was  incarnate  on  earth,  and  in  conflict  with  wicked  men 
and  devils;  and  is  an  example  of  tlie  way  He  trained  His 
apostles  to  believe  in  Him,  and  prepared  them  to  understand  the 
mysteries  of  His  kingdom,  and  organize  it  after  His  death  aTid 
ascension  to  Heaven. 

It  is  apparent  from  the  incident  following,  that  the  Apostloa 
now  so  fîir  understood  our  Lord,  that  they  believed  He  was  to 
leave  them  before  long;  and  their  carnal  minds,  and  human 
ambition  began  to  show  itself.  They  saw  no  Messianic  king- 
dom, and  they  were  all  in  ihe  dark  as  to  what  would  come  after 
His  departure;  but  evidently  they  expected  some  kind  of  a 
society  or  kingdom,  which  would  perpetuate  His  doctrines,  and 
continue  His  power  in  working  miracles.  And  so  they  began  dis- 
puting among  themselves,  who  should  be  chief,  when  the  Master 
departed.  Who  were  the  claimants  for  superiority,  or  what  the 
nature  of  the  reasoning  was,  is  not  related  ;  but  it  took  place  on 
tlie  road  while  they  were  returning  to  Capernaum.  And  witli 
the  truth  of  honest  men,  and  the  simplicity  of  little  children, 
the  apostles  relate  these  examples  of  their  unbelief,  tiieir  want 
of  sympathy  with  our  Lord  who  had  told  them  of  His  death — 
only  to  set  them  wrangling  about  who  was  to  be  the  greatest. 
Then  contrast  this  with  the  vehement  boldness  with  wJiich  they 
afterwards  taught  His  resurrection,  and  the  cheerfulness  with 
which  tiiey  suffered  martyrdom  for  its  confirmation  ;  and  we  have 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  179 

here  such  tsstiinoiiv  for  our  Lord's  Divinity, — 30  perfect,  so  in- 
cisive, so  convicting,  and  in  sucli  a  way  as  none  Init  the  wisdom 
of  Almiglity  God  could  have  devised. 

Christ  was  not  present  when  the  Apostles  disputed  about  tlie 
supremacy,  l)ut  it  was  after  He  liad  spoken  of  giving  the  keys  to 
Peter;  and  proves  that  the  Apostles  knew  nothing  of  a  supren:- 
acy  in  Peter,  or  sii\y  one  of  tliem, — but  they  perceived  that 
Christ  knew  their  thoughts  and  words,  whether  He  were  present 
or  absent.  And  when  He  asked  wluit  tliey  had  disputed  about 
by  tlie  way,  they  answered  not;  and  were  ashamed  of  tlieir 
sellishnevSS  and  want  of  sympatliy  for  Him. 

But  He,  instead  of  rebuking  them,  used  it  to  enforce  that 
great  principle  of  His  religion,  which  He  exemplified  in  His  own 
life,  and  in  wliich  His  own  Divine  greatness  was  best  seen, — 
His  humility — as  the  only  way  to  His  Fatlier's  love  and  favor. 

All  the  Apostles  were  concerned  in  tlie  sliameful  dispute, 
and  were  present  to  receive  the  rebukeful  instruction, — that  he 
who  desired  to  l)e  first,  should  be  last  and  servant  of  all.  Pa<ran- 
ism  never  tanglit  humility;  tlie  Greeks  and  Romans  had  no  word 
to  express  it  in  our  Lord's  meaning;  Judaism  had  lost  it,  buried 
under  the  traditions  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees. 

And  then  how  simple  and  lovely  the  way  He  illustrated  His 
meaning.  Calling  a  little  child,  and  taking  him  in  His  arms. 
He  said  those  memorable  words,  which  forever  exalted  meek- 
ness, and  humility,  and  docility  in  hearing  and  believing  the 
trutn;  and  which  have  ever  since  made  children  the  ciiief  object 
of  the  love  and  care  of  His  Church,  and  the  way  to  the  Father's 
love  and  blessings:  "Whosoever  receiveth  one  such  in  My  name, 
receiveth  Me;  and  whoever  shall  receive  Me,  receiveth  not  Me, 
but  Him  who  sent  Me."  He  instituted  baptism  to  receive  them 
into  His  covenant  and  kingdom,  that  they  might  be  regenerated 
and  sanctified,  before  the  world  had  won,  or  sullied,  tlieiTi  by  its 
false  glitter  and  promises,  and  the  deceitfulness  of  sin.    And  He 


ISO  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

(loaiandod  tlio  (-(infidinu;  love,  and  faitli,  and  docility  of  cliîld- 
liood  iu  all  wlio  would  be(roiiie  lli>;  disciples;  that  Ave  shoukl  go 
to  the  Heavenly  Father,  as  children  do  to  an  earthly  one  for  the 
eupply  of  all  our  wants,  both  temporal  and  eternal  ;  and  since 
Christ,  there  never  was  a  child,  who  did  not  l)clieve  in  Him,  and 
have  his  little  heart  touched  witli  tender  emotion,  when  he  was 
old  enough  to  understand  the  story  of  His  love. 

It  was  probably  while  Christ  was  at  Capernaum  this  time, 
that  the  Collectors  of  the  Tribute  Money  were  collecting  the 
annual  tax  of  half  a  shekel,  about  tldrty  cents,  which  was  de- 
manded fi-om  every  Jew,  for  support  of  the  Temple  worship  at 
Jerusalem;  it  was  called  atonement,  or  ransom  money  to  the 
Lord.  These  men  asked  St.  Peter,  if  his  Master  paid  the  tax  ? 
And  he  said,  Yes;  so  it  is  presumed  that  He  had  paid  it  before, 
a3  He  carefully  observed  all  the  ordinances  of  the  Jewish  Church  ; 
and  Peter  told  Christ  of  the  demand,  and  He  asked  him  of  whom 
do  the  kings  of  the  eartli  take  tribute,  of  their  own  6ul>jects  or 
strangers?  And  he  answered,  of  strangers.  The  question  aimed 
to  show  Peter  His  exemption  from  the  tax,  because  His  soul  re- 
quired no  atonement,  and  He  was  Lord  of  the  Temple. 

Peter  had  witnessed  Christ's  power  over  the  laws  of  nature, 
and  sickness  and  death  ;  but  now  He  manifested  it  in  a  new  way 
over  the  animal  kingdom  belonging  to  God,  and  the  financial 
world  administered  by  man.  He  sent  him  to  the  sea  to  catch  a 
fish,  and  find  the  tribute  money  in  its  mouth  ;  and  his  faith  wav- 
ered not  at  the  singular  command,  and  he  found  the  exact  ain(»unt 
required;  and  Christ  told  him  to  give  it  "for  Me  and  liiee." 
Though  sinless,  and  exempt  as  Lord  of  the  Temple,  He  submit- 
ted to  that  as  to  all  the  oi'dinanccs  of  the  Jewish  Church, — as  an 
example  of  obedience,  and  to  fultill  all  righteousness;  while  He 
showed  here  as  in  every  instance  of  His  life,  where  His  humanity 
was  concerned,  that  He  subndtted  as  the  Son  of  God,  having 
dominion  over  all  thiuirs. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  l«l 

In  consequence  of  Christ's  remarks  about  liutïiility  to  tlio 
Apostles,  wlien  He  reproved  tlicni  for  disputing  about  supreni- 
îicy,  their  cariosity  was  excited  to  know  more  of  what  greatness 
in  His  kingdom  would  consist;  because  tliey  now  believed  it 
could  not  be  long  before  tlie  kingdom  appeared,  as  He  had 
told  them — some  then  living  would  see  it.  And  the  lirst  opportu- 
nity, they  asked  Him,  "  Who  is  [i.e.  will  be)  the  greatest  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven?"  And  He  called  a  little  child  unto  Him 
and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them;  and  with  His  divine  "  Ver- 
ily, I  say  unto  you,"  declared,  "  Except  ye  be  converted,  and  be- 
come as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven."     . 

What  He  demanded  was — the  faith,  meekness,  and  docility 
of  childhood;  the  cor.version  was  a  turning  from  the  ambition, 
and  desire  for  earthly  power  or  distinction  they  manifested — a 
devilish  spirit — to  serve  God  and  do  all  for  His  glory.  This 
must  be  their  preparation  of  heai't  for  regeneration;  for  one 
might  be  converted  for  a  time,  and  if  it  did  not  lead  him  to  the 
docility  of  cliildren  in  going  on  to  repentance,  and  baptism  into 
the  kingdom,  it  would  not  avail  for  salvation.  He  had  had  some 
such  converts,  and  they  had  gone  away  without  waiting  for  the 
kingdom. 

Two  things 'were  required:  first,  conversion;  second,  repent- 
ance and  becoming  like  little  children, — they  were  all  in  God's 
covenant,  and  had  humble  and  docile  minds  to  be  trained  in,  and 
for,  the  kingdom.  And  whoso  becomes  as  a  little  child,  is  tlie 
greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  Heav^en;  it  is  childlike  faith,  child- 
like love,  childlike  obedience,  and  freedom  from  pride  and  am- 
bition, which  Christ  pointed  out  as  constituting  Christian  great- 
ness. And  He  sliowed  how  deep  His  love  for  all  such  disciples 
would  forever  be, — that  receiving  one  such  in  His  Name,  would 
forever  be  receiving  Him  ;  and  the  awful  retribution  for  reject- 
ing them  would  be  worse  than  temporal  death- 


182  LIFE    OF    CHRIST 

And  He  foresaw,  as  He  liad  before  foretold,  how  botli 
Himself,  His  name,  and  divine  character,  and  mission,  would  be 
received  by  future  generations, — offences,  unbelief,  and  pei'secu 
tions  will  come,  but  woe  to  the  man  by  whom  they  come;  better 
suflPer  any  maiming  of  the  body  here,  than  the  awful  penalty  of 
everlasting  fire  hevcîifter.  Heaven  and  Hell  are  the  great  mo- 
tives He  urges,  to  persuade  mcni  to  godly  lives. 

And  here  again  He  revealed  another  great  mystery  of  God, 
and  of  the  Heavenly  world  from  which  He  came,  respecting  the 
ministry  of  Aiigels — He  so  united  His  teaching,  respecting  both 
little  children,  and  the  members  of  His  Kingdom,  that  He  im- 
plies, that  both  have  guai'dian  angels  Avho  minister  to  them. 
And  they  are  sent  from  God's  immediate  presence  in  heaven  ; 
and  we  know  from  His  exp(;rience  and  teaching,  that  angels 
continually  minister  between  Heaven  and  Earth,  and  Paradise, 
and  Hades  ;  besides  what  other  services,  we  know  not  exactly, 
in  convej'ing  the  spirit  of  the  departing  to  their  new  abodes, 
when  they  leave  this  worhl.  They  ministei'cd  to  Him  in  every  ex- 
igency of  His  human  life  ;  one,  releasetl  Peter  from  prison 
after  Christ's  death,  another  was  sent  to  tell  Cornelius  his  pray- 
ers and  alms  had  come  up  as  a  memorial  before  God.  And  He 
says,  they  will  be  present  at  the  end  of  the  world  to  assist  Him 
at  the  Judgment  ;  and  nothing  is  more  reasonable  if  man  and 
the  world  be  related  to  God,  as  He  represents  them. 

As  the  son  of  Man,  He  revealed  His  great  office  as  Saviour, 
come  to  save  that  which  is  lost  ;  not  some,  but  generally  the 
whohî  race.  He  came  to  save  those  who  will  be  lost,  as  well  as 
those  who  will  be  saved.  No  one  will  fail  of  salvation  by  God's 
will,  and  oidy  :n  oy-position  to  His  will  ;  it  will  be  only  by  re- 
sisting all  He  has  done  in  love  and  mercy,  and  at  personal  cost  tv 
Himself.  And  the  costliness  of  His  sacrilice,  and  self-irapose»i 
suffering,  in  giving  His  son  to  die  in  our  nature,  for  our  sins,  and 
to  save  us  from  an  eternal  penalty,  proved  the  intensity  of  His  love 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  183 

and  desire  for  onr  salvati(Mi  ;  and  every  sinner  struggles  against 
God's  will  wlien  lie  sins,  and  worlds  for  his  own  eternal  punish- 
ment. And  to  prove  tliis,  Christ  rehited  the  Farahle  oC  the  Lost 
Slieep,  an  appropriate  type  of  a  sinner,  or  straying  Christian  ;  it 
is  defenceless  against  its  enemies,  and  has  no  instinct  like  the 
dog,  or  bee,  to  help  it  return  to  the  fold.  And  the  owner's  leav- 
ing the  ninety-nine  to  seek  the  lost  one,  outshadowed  God's  love 
in  Christ,  who  had  come  to  seek  and  save  the  lost;  Jesus  called 
Himself  the  Good  Shepherd  ;  and  here  He  tells  how  He  rejoices 
over  every  penitent  sinner  who  comes  to  Him.  And  that  it  is  not 
the  "  Father  in  Heaven's  will,  that  one  of  these  little  one's  should 
perish  ;  "  and  He  calls  all  "  little  ones,"  who  manifest  the  inno- 
cence, meekness,  and  docility  of  little  children. 


CHAPTER    XXVL 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  SEVENTY. 


Tlie  new  kinçrdom  of  Heaven — whicli  was  ffrowinir  ont  of 
the  old  kingdom  of  God — that  was  to  transmit  the  benefits  of 
Cln-ist's  incarnation  and  sac;riti(^e,  He  now  for  the  first  time  called 
the  Church;  and  this  was  revealed  only  to  His  disciples,  as  a 
moral  kingdom  founded  by  spiritual  force. 

He  had  already  taught  the  Apostles,  that  His  kingdom  would 
be  founded  on  Hhnself, — the  ll(jck;  and  now  He  instructed  them 
that  its  authority  must  be  supreme,  and  man's  last  appeal,^and 
He,  as  its  king,  would  ratify  and  annul  in  Hea\'en  all  they  did 
in  His  name  on  Earth. 

The  mission  of  the  Cliurcli  was — to  continue  Christ's  woi'k, 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor,  to  comfort  the  troul)led,  carrj' 
the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  everywhere,  gather  the  natioiis,  main- 
tain the  new  worship,  and  transmit  the  ministry  and  the  Gospel 
unimpaired,  until  He  returns  to  annex  it  to  His  kingdom  in  Heav- 
en. And  it  was  called  "  Holy  Catholic,"  in  tlie  Creed,  because 
its  sacraments  would  make  men  righteous;  andCatholic  because 
it  embraces  all  the  holy  angels,  and  the  saints  in  Paradise,  as 
well  as  righteous  on  earth.  And  whoever  refuses  to  liear  the 
Church,  an<l  submit  to  her  discipline,  Christ  ranked  as  publicans 
and  heathen.     And  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  authorizes  her 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  185 

ministers  to  exercise  Clirist's  power  in  remitting  original  sin,  and 
absolving  penitents  wlio  come  with  repentance  and  faith:  and  hj 
her  ofHces  to  convey  the  gifts  of  the  Idoly  Spirit,  which  He  ob- 
tained for  her  since  His  return  to  Heaven,  And  He  promised 
— that  Avhere  two  or  three  are  gathered  in  His  name  He  will  be 
present  with  them,  and  grant  whatever  is  asked  the  Father  in 
His  name. 

And  the  Apostles  supposed  they  had  received  that  full  power 
from  Christ  before  His  Ascension,  because  when  they  saw  a  man 
not  of  themselves  casting  out  devils,  they  forbid  him.  But  Christ 
said,  "Forbid  him  m)t,"  for  no  man  doing  a  miracle  in  His  name 
would  speak  lightly  of  Him,  but  he  would  be  on  their  part  ;  and 
whoeve]-  will  give  a  cup  of  water  in  His  name,  and  to  His  disci- 
ples, "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  3'ou,  he  shall  in  no  wise  lose  his 
reward;"  but  whosoever  shall  offend  one  of  them,  "it  were  bet- 
ter for  him  that  a  mill-stone  were  hanged  about  his  neck  and  he 
were  cast  into  the  sea." 

The  Apostles  were  then  only  candidates  for  the  power  they 
were  to  receive,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  came;  and  Christ  ap- 
pointed lay  teachers  in  the  transition  He  was  making  from  Ju- 
daism to  Christianity.  He  ti^ld  the  man  at  Gadera,  out  of  whom 
He  cast  devils,  to  go  home  and  tell  how  great  tilings  God  had 
done  for  Him;  and  again,  when  a  man  offered  to  follow  Him, 
but  asked  first  to  go  and  bury  his  father,  Christ  said,  "Let  the 
dead  bury  their  dead,  but  go  thou  and  preacli  the  kingdom  of 
God."  The  Apostles  were  mistaken  in  supposing  they  had  then 
received  power  as  His  successors;  and  even  tlieir  baptism  was  not 
sacramental,  but  to  admit  members  to  Christ's  kingdom,  that  they 
might  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  at  His  coming. 

And  there  is  a  signiticance  in  those  unordained  men  which 
connects  the  out-going  and  in-coming  Church  of  the  Avilderness 
with  Christ's;  because  Eldad  and  Medad  prophecied  in  the  wil- 
derness, though  they  were  of  neither  priestly  nor   propheticiJ 


186  LIFE    OF    CHRIST 

order,  and  ever  since  Christ's  Church  has  been  wholly  supported 
by  its  laity.  St.  Peter  says,  all  Christians  are  "a  royal  priest- 
hood;" tliey  receive  rei^oneration  for  tlieir  work  from  tlie  same 
Holy  Spirit  wlio  consecrates  tlic  piiestliood,  and  will  tin;dly  re- 
ceive a  share  in  tlie  reward  for  all  who  turn  men  to  righteous- 
ness. 

Christ  rejDcated  the  warning  against  offending  the  least  of 
His  disciples,  and  of  the  future  penalty  of  failing  of  salvation; 
and  they  had  better  make  any  sacrifice  than  to  be  cast  into  Hell, 
wliere  the  w'orm  dieth  not  and  the  lire  is  not  quenched.  It  is 
impossible  that  Christ  would  misrepresent  that  world, — He  had 
no  motive  to  do  so.  The  lire  may  be  figurative,  but  it  is  repre- 
sented as  causing  intolerable  suffering  to  the  spiritual  body,  as 
fire  does  to  tlie  natural  body;  it  is  spiritual  fire  because  un- 
(|uenchable,  and  tliere  is  nothing  in  nature  so  like  spirit  as  flame. 
And  the  figure  of  being  salted  with  fire  had  reference  to 
the  salting  of  sacrifices  for  burnt  offerings;  and  salt  was  a  sym- 
bol of  purity,  wisdom  and  righteousness.  And  Christ  had  before 
said  to  His  disciples,  "Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth;"  and  He 
warned  them  of  the  peril  of  losing  their  saltness,  because  it  is 
inipossible  to  renew  to  repentance,  those  who  have  been  regen- 
erated by  the  Holy  Ghost,  if  they  fall  away. 

St.  Peter  .asked  Christ  about  the  dwty  of  forgiveness,  if  it 
should  be  seven  times, — a  number  signifying  completion;  and 
He  answered,  "I  say  unto  you  until  seventy  times  seven."  This 
new  standard  implied  that  it  should  be  unlimited,  so  long  as  the 
brother  repents  and  promises  amendment,  whicli  was  the  Divine 
rule  in  Lamach's  case;  and  that  St.  Paul  interprets,  "forgiving 
one  another,  even  as  God,  for  Christ's  sake  hath  forgiven  you." 

And  Christ  spake  the  Parable  of  the  king  reckoning  with 
his  servants:  the  first  called  owed  ten  thousand  talents,  then  an 
enormous  sum — ten  millions  of  dollars — representing  the  sinner's 
infinite  debt  to  God, — a  hopeless  bankrupt.  And  he  asked  delay, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  187 

and  promised  to  pay  all.  The  sum  represents  also  God's  gifts 
of  temporal  and  spiritual  blessings,  and  immortality,  and  shows 
liow  vain  the  liope  to  pay  it  by  our  self -righteousness.  The  man 
had  nothing  to  pay;  he  worsliipped  the  king,  prayed  for  dehiy, 
and  was  forgiven. 

Then  tliat  man  is  made  to  present  a  contrast;  he  seized  a 
servant  violently  wlio  owed  a  hnndred  pence,  and  demanded  pay- 
ment ;  and  lie  fell  down  at  his  feet,  begged  for  delay,  and  prom- 
ised to  pay  him — but  he  would  not  ;  but  ordered  his  wife,  child- 
i-en,  and  all  he  had  to  be  sold  and  payment  made.  By  the  lioman 
law,  then  supreme  in  Judea,  children  were  the  property  of  parents, 
tuid  a.  f  jitlier  could  sell  them  to  slavery  ;  and  the  Mosaic  hiw  per- 
mitted insolvent  debtor's  families  to  be  sold  into  bondage;  Christ 
as  the  king,  forecasts  how  He  will  administer  His  kingdom  and 
judge  it;  the  merciless  will  have  no  mer<;y,  and  the  tormentors 
to  whom  they  will  be  delivered  are  tlie  worm  that  will  never  die 
and  the  fire  tliat  is  not  quenched.  And  His  disciples  must  ex- 
pect forgiveness  from  Him  as  they  forgive  tlieir  fellow^  men;  and 
all  this  proves  that  the  Parable  was  spoken  at  the  time  and  place 
where  Koman  and  Hebrew  laws  had  met  in  Palestine. 

No  act  of  our  Lord's  ministry  M^as  more  incisive  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  His  regal  and  sacerdotal  authority,  than  tlie  clioosing 
of  tlie  seventy  disciples  to  help  in  His  work.  Tiie  calling  of  the 
twelve  Apostles,  had  no  visible  signiticancy  in  itself  to  the  llulers 
of  the  Jews;  but  now,  calling  a  third  class  of  laborers,  looked 
like  the  organization  of  a  governm.ent,  and  aftm*  the  order  of  the 
the  old  kingdom,  with  its  high-priefet,  priest,  and  lévites;  and  so 
of  a  coming  kingdom,  like  that  instituted  by  Moses,  at  Mt.  Sinai, 
where  all  things  were  especially  prescribed  to  him  by  God. 

And  as  the  twelve  Apostles  represented  the  Patriarchs  of 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  so  also  did  the  seventy  now  chosen 
fulfill  the  type  of  the  seventy  elders,  Moses  selected  by  God's 
co;i;i;innd.     Christ  wns  tl  e  Hisfh-Priest;    the  twelve  Apostles, 


188  LIFE    OF    CHRIST 

Priests;  and  the  seventy,  to  be  the  Lévites,  or  deacons,  for  His 
kingdom,  Avhich  was  like  the  kingdom  of  God  in  Heaven,  with 
three  Divine  Persons  ruling,  and  as  His  Church  now  is:  and 
that  distinguishes  it  from  all  governments,  except  as  they  are 
modeled  after  it. 

In  choosing  this  third  order  of  the  mini^try,  Clirist  gradually 
prepared  the  way  for  the  inauguration  of  His  kingdom,  which 
was  to  deliver  mankind  from  bondage  lo  sin,  and  death,  and 
Satan  ;  and  proved  Himself  the  Prophet  foretold  by  Moses,  whoni 
the  people  would  hear. 

The  success  of  Christ's  ministry  luul  prepared  tlie  way  for 
more  laborers;  the  old  kingdom  had  suffered  violence  by  the 
multitudes  that  were  leaving  it  to  follow  Him,  and  He  was  shak- 
ing the  faith  of  the  people  in  its  Kulers,  exposing  their  hypoc- 
risy, false  teaching,  and  unrighteous  lives. 

The  time  for  concealing  Christ's  divine  nature,  and  pur- 
poses, was  di'awing  to  its  end;  and  there  was  much  ti'aining  yet 
needed  to  prepare  His  disciples  to  help  forwai-d  the  great  tran- 
sition going  on,  and  to  succeed  to  His  authority  wli'-n  His  king- 
dom was  empowered.  But  the  Seventy  were  only  candidates 
for  hoi}'  orders,  cfticiating  as  lay  Lévites,  who  would  succeed  to 
the  second  order  of  the  ministiy,  when  the  Apostles  were  conse- 
crated to  "succeed  to  His  Apostleship  and  High-Priesthood,  and 
when  seven  deacons  would  be  called  to  their  office. 

In  all  those  acts,  there  was  a  visible  preparation  for  a  visible 
kingdom,  for  the  transfer  of  the  Levitical  to  the  Christian  priest- 
hood, and  from  sacrificial  to  sacramental  worship;  but  it  was  by 
slow  and  unapparent  stages,  guided  by  such  infinite  wisdom, 
that  it  caut^cd  no  open  rupture;  and  all  the  types  of  Mt.  Sinai 
were  fulfilled  and  completed  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  of 
Christ;  for  that  is  what  the  Christian  Church  is,  the  blossom  and 
fruit  on  the  branch  and  stem  of  Jesse.  And  how  plain,  as  well 
as  wonderful,  all  this  appears  now,  as  we  look  back  two  thoa- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  189 

sand  years  to  Christ,  and  tlien  back  fifteen  centuries  more  to  the 
preparations,  whicli  the  Son  of  God  then  began,  and  compare  it 
with  tlie  three  orders  of  tlie  ministiy,  tliat  liave  preserved  and 
transmitted  the  Gospel  and  Cliurch,  nnder  tlie  very  form  in  wliich 
tlie  kingdom  of  God  in  Heaven  is  administered,  by  the  three 
Divine  Persons  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity. 

It  is  apparent  from  Christ's  connnission  to  the  Seventy,  how 
the  aspect  of  things  had  changed  since  the  twelve  Apostles  were 
sent  ont;  liow  the  animosity  of  the  Rulers  had  increased,  and 
the  tide  of  opposition  was  rising  and  extending;  neither  the 
Apostles  nor  the  Seventy  had  any  prpperly  ministerial  functions; 
the  field  was  white  to  harvest,  but  they  had  no  authority  to  call 
nor  any  power  to  ordain  new  laborers,  but  were  to  pray  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  to  aend  them;  and  they  were  to  go  forth  as 
lambs  among  wolves,  to  carry  neither  money  nor  garments,  but 
trust  in  Him  for  support  and  protection,  and  to  be  gracious, 
though  they  were  hated  and  persecuted  ;  wliich  shows  that  the 
animosity  to  Christ  was  extending  to  His  teachers.  Hence  it  is 
evident  that  they  needed  to  believe  in  Him,  and  be  trained  by 
Him,  to  go  on  such  à  mission.  But  their  message  was  not  only 
to  preach  repentance  and  the  kingdom  at  hand,  but  "Peace;" 
and  if  they  were  not  \\ell  received,  their  peace  would  return  to 
them. 

The  Apostles  were  sent  to  preach  to  the  Pulers  and  people 
generally,  that  the  kingdom  was  at  hand  ;  but  the  Seventy,  when 
persecuted,  were  to  depart,  warning  the  people,  "  Be  ye  sure  the 
kingdom  of  God  has  come  nigh  to  you;"  and  that  it  would  be 
more  tolerable  for  Sodom  in  the  judgment  than  for  that  city; 
and  He  named  two  cities  that  had  rejected  Him,  and  pronounced 
a  woe  on  Capernaum, — then  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  of 
the  Holy  Land — which  has  been  so  fulfilled,  that  in  our  day  its 
former  site  is  not  certainly  known.  And  then,  even  though 
they  had  not  received  conseci-ation  by  the  Holy  Spirit  for  their 


190  L  I  F  K     0  F     C  II  R  I  S  T . 

lav  work, — 3'ct  wl  10c ver  hoard  tlieni  licnrd  Ilim,  and  wlioever  de- 
spised tliem  despised  Him;  and  despi^in^l:;  Jlim  tliey  despised  God 
the  Futlier  wlio  sent  Him.  In  all  tliis  it  is  seen  how  everytliing 
was  rapidly  changing,  and  tending  to  some  grand  climax,  wliich 
neither  tlie  Rulers  of  the  Jews,  nor  Clirist's  chosen  teachers,  yet 
understood. 

The  Seventy's  report  to  our  Lord,  on  tlieir  return  from  their 
first  mission,  is  very  l)rief  ;  no  mention  of  tlie  cities  visited,  nor 
details  of  the  work  done.  But  they  returned  with  joy,  tliat  they 
had  believed  and  trusted  in  Him;  joy,  tliat  they  liad  been  hon- 
ored by  Him  to  assist  in  working  for  Him,  and  pre}iariiig  the 
way  for  His  kingdom, — works  Avliich  they  saw  God  alone  c(juld 
have  empowered  them  to  do.  And  tliismust  have  been  increased 
by  His  reply  to  their  report,  that  He  saw  Satan  fall  as  liglitning 
from  Heaven,  Avhen  he  was  cast  out  for  his  rebellion  there — an 
incidental  corroboration  tliat  He  lived  in  Ifcaven  once:  and  tliat 
He,  too,  rejoiced  that  the  devils  were  subject  unto  them  IJirough 
His  name,  as  it  was  an  assurance  of  His  final  triumph;  and  He 
increased  their  power  over  the  devils,  so  that  they  (;ould  by  no 
means  hurt  them.  Notwithstanding,  this  was  not  so  much  a 
cause  foi'  rejoicing,  as  that  their  names  were  written  in  Heaven. 
From  the  time  of  Moses,  it  was  a  comnion  belief  of  the  Israelites 
that  all  in  covenant  with  God  had  their  names  recorded  in  books 
in  Heaven. 

The  report  also  rejoiced  Christ,  and  He  thanked  tlie  Father 
for  these  humble  believers  in  Him,  who  had  become  co-workers 
in  accomplishing  His  mission  into  our  world.  Although  He 
knew  their  work  was  hastening  Him  towards  the  last  scenes  in 
Gethsemane  and  Calvary,  yet  He  could  rejoice  ;  because  He  knew 
His  power  over  death,  and  the  glory  it  would  bring  to  Himself 
and  millions  of  mankind.  He  assured  them  that  the  Father  had 
committed  all  power  and  dominion  over  Creation  tv  Him,  as  the 
Son  of  Man  ;  and  none  knew  the  Father  but  the  Son,  and  lie  to 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST  191 

■whom  He  will  reveal  Him.  Wluit  monstrous  presumption  foi- 
any  one  to  say,  were  He  not  tlie  8on  of  God;  and  how  utterlv 
nnimaginahle  for  any  mere  man  to  conceive  and  utter  sncli  ;ni 
idea,  or  to  liave  made  up  such  a  story?  And  liow  certainly  its 
ti-ntli  is  borne  out  and  confirmed  hy  all  the  mysteries  of  His  life. 
Tliese  two  things  witness,  each  for  the  other,  that  the  Gospel  is 
the  Word  of  God,  that  it  is  impossible  a  human  mind  could  con- 
ceive such  a  series  of  events, — so  harmonious,  so  probable  in  their 
details,  involving  so  many  mysteries, — unless  Jesus  Christ  were 
the  Son  of  God,  as  well  as  of  Man. 

This  interview  with  His  disciples  was  concluded  by  Christ's 
identifying  Himself  with  the  prophecy  of  Haggai,  as  the  longed 
for  Desire  of  all  nations;  and  assuring  them  that  it  was  a  blessed 
thing  to  have  lived  in  His  time,  to  witness  His  works, — leaving 
them  to  infer  how  vastly  greater  the  T)lessing,  to  have  been  hort- 
ored  by  Him  to  assist  in  His  lal)or. 

And  it  came  to  pass  at  another  time,  when  our  Lord  had 
retired  with  His  disciples  for  prayer,  that,  when  He  ceased,  one 
of  them  asked  Him  to  teach  them  to  pray  as  John  had  taught 
his  disciples.  This  may  have  been  one  of  the  Seventy,  or  one 
who  had  been  John's  disciple;  and  was  not  present  when  He 
gave  His  disciples  the  form,  "Our  Father."  It  was  usual  for 
the  Rabbis  to  give  their  pnpils  forms  of  prayer  ;  and  Christ  gave 
them  the  same  prayer.  John  gave  his  disciples  a  form,  but  no 
xunt  of  its  nature  is  preserved;  Clirist's  is  so  comprehensive  as  to 
include  all  temporal  and  spiritual  wants,  all  we  need  for  time 
and  for  eternity;  and  His  Church  has  ever  since  used  it  in  all 
the  offices  of  His  religion. 

And  then,  as  if  Avith  reference  to  the  man  who  asked  for 
the  prayer.  He  spake  the  Parable  of  the  friend  going  to  a  friend 
for  a  gift;  to  enforce  the  duty  of  earnest  and  importunate  prayer. 
If  the  prayer  be  refused,  because  it  is  midnight,  and  the  children 
in  bed,  and  the  door  fastened;  nevertheless,  persistence  will  carry 


192  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

tlie  point,  and  obtain  the  request.  How  mncli  surer  they  miglit 
l)e,  that  tlie  Heavenly  Fatlier's  love  and  compassion  will  be  moved 
b}'  sincere  and  persevering  prayer.  He  promises  that  whoso  asks 
shall  receive;  and  God  will  give  His  Holy  Spirit  to  tliose  who 
ask,  more  readily  than  earthly  parents  will  good  things  to  their 
children. 

It  is  probable  that  the  sid)stance  of  several  of  Christ's  dis- 
coiu'ses  were  repeated  several  times,  in  different  places,  and  to 
persons  of  similar  charactter  ;  and  that  He  often  dined  with  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  and  Pul)licans  and  Sinners.  And  St.  Lnke  re- 
peats an  incident,  similar  to  St.  Mark's  account  of  His  dining 
with  a  Pharisee,  Avith  variations  which  render  it  probal)le  it  was 
on  another  occasion. 

The  Pharisee  marvelled  that  He  sat  down  to  dine,  Avithout 
washing  His  hands  ;  Christ  ever  observed,  in  the  most  reiined 
manner,  all  the  courtesies  and  requirements  of  a  perfect  Man- 
hood. And  this  remark  of  the  Pluirisees,  showed  that  at  this 
time.  He  did  not  do  as  His  custom  was;  and  wliat  followed 
showed  His  motive.  For  we  see  His  Divine  courtesy,  in  that  He 
did  not  seek  occasions  to  obtrude  instruction,  but  only  used  them 
as  opportunitifis  offered;  and  here,  He  made  it  a  means  of  im- 
parting a  useful  lesson. 

And  if  Clirist's  words  seem  harsh,  or  discourteous,  we  must 
remember  that  He  spake  then  in  love  and  sorrow,  and  to  try  to 
make  the  Pharisees  see  how  they  looked  in  God's  siglit,  and  to 
make  tliem  repent  ;  calling  them  by  name,  He  accused  them  of 
making  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  platter  clean, — l>y  their  self- 
righteousness,  prayers  to  be  seen  of  men,  and  tithing  herbs,  and 
ostentatious  alms-giving, — while  within  they  wei-e  full  of  hy- 
pocrisy and  excess. 

Christ  did  not  condemn  those  acts,  but  the  way  the,y  did 
them.  He  transferred  fasting  arid  alms  to  His  Church,  as  duties 
expressive  of  obedience  to  God  ;    and  self-sacrifice,  to  take  the 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  193 

place  of  the  burnt  sacrifices  of  the  old  kingdom.  Tliey  are  hard 
Cliristian  duties  ;  and  -most  Christians  fall  below  the  Pharisees, 
who  gave  a  tenth  for  tlie  support  of  Divine  worship,  and  tliree 
or  four  tenths  more  for  religious  objects  ;  and  whoever  neglects 
these  Christian  sacrifices,  never  will  know  whether  his  selfishness 
is  overcome,  and  his  love  of  God  sincere.  But  our  Lord  had  not 
discharged  all  His  duty  by  tlie  rebuke  and  instruction,  but  de- 
nounced woes  against  tlie  Scribes  and  Fli arasées  for  their  pride 
and  hypocrisy  ;  and  upon  the  Lawyers,  for  their  extortion  and 
robbing  of  others  by  their  inordinate  demands  for  their  services  ; 
and  He  accused  them  as  the  posterity  of  the  Prophet-killers,  be- 
cause they  kept  in  repair  the  tombs  of  the  men  their  fatliers 
murdered. 

And  He  concluded  this  discourse  with  a  Prophecy,  which 
He  called,  "  the  Wisdom  of  God,"  that  that  generation  would 
peisecute  and  slay  the  Apostles  and  Prophets  He  would  send; 
l)ut  v/ithholding  the  final  act  of  His  own  death,  which  would  fill 
up  tlie  measure  of  its  iniquities.  He  said,  "  the  blood  of  all  the 
Martyrs  from  Abel  to  Zacharias  would  be  required  of  it."  The 
Pharisees  were  enraged  at  the  prophecy,  and  tried  to  provoke 
Him  to  say  something  they  could  lay  hold  of  to  accuse  Him  to 
the  Rulers,  and  put  Him  to  death  ;  but  His  wisdom  was  greater 
than  their  cunning. 


^I     ■     i-^»^ 


CHAPTER   XXVII 


TEACHING  IN  THE  CITIES  AND  VILLAGES. 


Clirist  sent  out  tlie  seventy  discdples  ap^tiin,  into  the  cities 
and  villages,  where  He  intended  to  follow  them;  but  the  Gos- 
pels do  not  tell  what  their  course  was.  And  we  only  catch  a  sight 
liere  and  there,  of  His  doings  ;  though  He  apparently  did  not  re- 
turn to  Capernaum,  until  He  went  to  Jerusalem  to  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles,  the  Fall  before  His  crucifixion.  As  He  came  to 
fulfill  all  righteousness,  according  to  tlie  Law,  He  was  prol)ably 
present  always  at  the  three  great  festivals,  when  all  pious  Jews 
were  required  to  present  themselves, — though  the  Evangelists 
relate  but  little  of  these  visits;  for  they  recorded  nothing  merely 
to  gratif}"  curiosity,  but  only  to  show  His  obedience  to  the  Law, 
and  liow  He  prepared  them,  and  the  M^ay,  for  the  transfer  of  the 
old  kingdom  to  the  new  one,  and  for  the  duties  which  would  de- 
volve on  them,  after  His  mission  had  ended. 

He  said,  the  fields  are  white  to  harvest.  And  this  going  out 
of  increased  laborers  into  all  the  cities  and  villages,  must  have 
shaken  the  whole  land  ;  and  the  increase  of  His  fame  and  nn'ghty 
works,  and  caused  a  corresponding  increase  of  hatred  and  watch- 
fulness of  His  enemies. 

One  day  a  lawyer  came  tempting  Him,  and  asked  wliat  he 
should  do  to  inherit  eternal  life  ;  and  the  question  reveals  how 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  195 

Christ's  tcacliing  had  taken  root  in  tlie  land,  that  the  old  idea  of 
workiniç  out  salvation  by  the  Law,  was  dispelling,  whether  lie 
were  in  earnest  or  no;  and  Christ  told  him  to  love  God  with 
all  his  heart,  and  his  neiglibor  as  himself,  which  has  always 
been  the  wdiole  of  true  religion — because  it  leads  to  obedience  to 
all  God's  requirements,  and  that  brings  grace  to  do  all  duties  to 
neighbors. 

The  lawyer  acknowledged  Christ  had  answered  rightly;  but 
willing  to  justify  hiinself,  and  not  believing  in  Christ,  or  vtishing 
to  be  His  follower,  he  asked,  "Who  is  my  neighbor?"  He  did 
not  believe  the  Samaritans  came  under  that  head,  and  Christ 
spake  the  Parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan.  A  certain  man  went 
clown  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho  and  fell  among  thieves,  who 
stripped,  wounded,  and  robbed  him,  leaving  him  on  the  road-side 
half  dead  ;  and  a  priest  went  by  and  paid  no  attention  to  him  ; 
and  a  Lévite  also  came  along,  and  looked  on  him,  and  passed  Iw 
on  the  other  side  ;  but  a  Samaritan  saw  the  M'ounded  man,  and 
had  compassion  on  him,  washed  and  bound  up  his  wounds,  put 
him  on  his  own  beast,  and  took  him  to  an  inn,  paid  his  fare,  and 
became  responsible  for  him  until  he  should  be  M^ell.  And  Christ 
asked  the  lawyer,  which  of  the  three  was  the  man's  neighbor? 
The  lawyer  would  not  call  the  Samaritan  by  his  name,  but  said, 
"He  who  showed  mercy;"  and  Jesus  said  unto  him,  "Go  thou 
and  do  likewise,"  and  in  this  way  rebuked  his  bigotry,  and  taught 
him  how  to  show  mercy. 

As  He  went  through  the  cities  and  villages  teaching,  going 
towards  Jerusalem,  some  one  asked  Him,  "  Lord  are  there  few 
that  will  be  saved  ?  " 

He  had  answered  this  question  before  in  His  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  ;  saying,  the  gate  is  narrow  and  the  way  strait,  and  few 
there  be  that  iind  it  ;  and  now  He  adds  a  new  motive  to  strive 
to  enter,  because  some  who  seek  will  not  be  able.  Not  that 
there  is  no  room,  not  that  His  salvation  is  not  suf}i(;ient  for  all; 


196  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

l)ut  unbelief,  or  indolence,  engrossment  by  tliis 'world,  will  pre- 
vent many  of  that  generation  fi-om  finding  it. 

And  He  declared  with  His  Divine  autl)ority,  "I  say,"  that 
there  is  a  limit  to  the  Father's  mercy  and  long  suffering  ;  and 
so  to  human  probation,  when  tlie  door  of  the  kingdom  will 
be  shut  and  it  will  l)e  too  late  to  cry  for  mcr(;y.  The  disv-iples 
knew  that  under  the  Law,  there  was  God's  solemn  warning  to 
tiie  reprobate, — that,  if  they  despised  His  mercy  in  life,  at  death 
He  would  mock  at  their  calamity,  and  laugh  when  their  fear 
came. 

This  warning  was  for  a  disciple,  and  so  for  all  Christians; 
that,  if  they  are  not  faithful  unto  death,  at  the  judgment  He 
will  tell  them,  though  they  have  eaten  and  drunk  at  Ids  table, 
and  taught  in  His  name,  "1  know  you  not  from  whence  ye  are; 
depart  from  Me,  all  ye  workers  of  iniquity."  And  they  will  have 
tlieir  lot  with  the  lost  in  Hell  ;  and  the  old  saints,  and  the  Gen- 
tiles shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,  while  they  will  be  thrust 
out, — an  awful  warning  to  the  Rulers  of  His  Clmrch,  if  tliey  are 
unfaithful  in  doing  the  work  committed  to  them.  And  He  con- 
cluded, "  there  are  last  which  shall  be  first,  and  first  which  shall 
he  last."  The  ministers  of  His  Church  may,  in  the  great  day  of 
reckoning,  be  found  less  worthy  of  high  places  in  His  Heavenly 
kingdom,  than  the  faithful  laymen  who  did  their  humble  duty 
well;  they  will  be  first  there,  and  those  who  were  first  here  will 
there  be  last. 

The  fame  of  Christ  had  now  l>ecoroe  so  general,  and  the 
fact  known  that  the  people  had  proposed  to  make  Him  a  king, 
that  Herod  Antipas,  whom  Joscphus  says  killed  John  the  Bap- 
tist because  of  his  influence  over  the  people,  was  alarmed  ;  as 
Herod  his^father  was,  thirty  years  before,  when  he  ordered  tiie 
murder  of  tlie  children  of  Bethlehem;  now  fearing  the  loss  of  his 
Governorship,  sought  Christ's  life.  Is  this  fiction?  Did  the 
Evangelists  invent  these  stories,  and  the  cliaracters  and  acts  of 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  197 

these  two  men  ?  No  !  be(;a«se  Instoiy  confirms  both,  as  well  aa 
the  Gospel  narrative. 

It  is  not  related  how  Plerod's  animosity  showed  itself,  but 
Christ  had  some  friends  among  the  Pliarisees,  because  they  in- 
formed Him  that  Herod  sought  to  kiil  Him;  and  His  reply, 
scAorning  his  threat,  <^-alling  him  a  fox,  and  telling  him  He  would 
work  raira<;les  until  He  was  ready  to  be  perfected,  and  rise  from 
the  dead,  shows  His  consciousness  of  His  divine  power,  and  con- 
firms its  truth,  as  it  is  rep'-eseuted  in  the  Gospel.  And  it  proves 
that  He  knew  the  time  of  His  death  was  approacliing,  but  it  was 
n(jt  in  Herod's  power  to  touch  Him  ;  and  that  on  the  third  day 
He  would  rise  from  the  dead,  perfected  in  a  spiritual  body. 

Nevertheless,  He  must  walk  a  little  longer,  and  die  at  Jeru- 
salem ;  all  the  types  and  prophecies  foretold  Jerusalem  as  the 
place  where  He  would  suffer.  And  then  He  utters  that  mournful 
but  tender  lament  over  the  City  of  David,  and  the  Temple  of 
God. 

"  Oh  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  which  killest  the  prophets,"  tell- 
ing how  He  longed  to  gather  the  people,  and  they  would  not, 
and  their  House  was  becoming  desolate, — words  He  repeated 
the  last  time  He  visited  the  Temple,  Wednesday  before  His  cru- 
cifixion. Tliey  were  not  words  of  reproach  more  than  compas- 
sion, whk'h  none  but  God  could  have  expressed  under  the  cir- 
cumstances; not  even  any  mention  of  His  own  personal  sorrow 
for  His  rejection  and  conring  death,  but  only  His  desire  for 
Israel's  salvation;  for  Jerusalem  to  Him  represented  His  own 
(avenant  people,  and  the  grief  He  felt  at  the  desolation  they 
were  to  bring  on  themselves,  the  city  and  Temple  desolate,  and 
the  daily  sacrifice  and  worship  of  God,  which  had  been  there  a 
thousand  years,  about  to  cease  forever.  A  recent  visitor  to  Je- 
rusalem confirms  His  prophecy,  saying,  "  All  is  so  mournful,  so 
inexpressibly  solemn-  The  v^ery  sunsliine  on  those  cruml)ling 
walls  is  unlike  sunliglit  elsewhere,  and  liiis  no  cheer,  no  gladness 


198  LIFE    OF    CHRIST 

al)(»ut  it.  In  tliis  sud  city  there  is  notliiiig  to  talk  of  but  ruins, 
and  its  story,  decay,  and  sad  memorials.'" 

As  the  time  for  Christ's  departure  approached.  He  devoted 
His  instruction  more  particularly  to  the  Twelve  and  the  Seventy 
M'ho  began  to  he  more  with  Him.  And  He  spake  to  them  the 
Parable  of  tiie  ricli  man  whose  abundant  harvests  led  him  to 
jiropose  to  tear  down  his  barns  and  build  greater,  and  then  to 
take  his  ease  and  enjoy  himself;  hut  God  that  night  required  his 
life;  "And  so  is  he,"  He  said,  "who  layeth  up  treasure  for  him- 
self, and  is  not  rich  towa)-ds  God."'  And  He  wai-nod  them  to 
take  no  thouglit  for  earthly  things,  for  God,  wlio  feeds  the  ra- 
vens, and  clothes  the  lilies  more  gorgeously  than  even  Solomon 
was  clothed,  would  take  care  of  them.  He  would  give  tliem  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  l)y  their  labors  and  alms  for  it  they  would 
lay  up  treasures  in  Heaven. 

And  they  must  gird  up  their  loins,  and  let  their  light  shine, 
like  servants  who  are  waiting  for  their  Lord;  for  such  servants 
felmll  be  blesed  when  He  returns  to  the  wedding.  And  He  will 
make  them  sit  down  at  His  table  and  serve  them,  and  make  them 
Ilulers  over  all  He  hath;  while  He  also  warned  them  that  he 
who  knew  his  Lord's  will  and  did  it  not,  would  be  beaten  w-ith 
many  stripes.  And  He  declared  He  had  come  to  kindle  a  lire 
on  earth,  which  was  already  kindled;  and  He  had  a  baptism  to 
be  l)aptized  with,  and  His  soul  was  straitened  until  it  be  accom- 
ûliàlied. 

He  did  not  wish  to  conceal  what  He  foreknew  of  the  tu- 
mult, tribulation,  and  divisions  His  religion  Avould  make  among 
men  ;  l)ecause  His  Kingdom  would  not  only  divide  households, 
and  arraign  parents  and  children  against  one  another,  but  would 
also  go  forth  to  break  in  pieces  the  old  Paganism  of  tlie  Gentile 
world,  and  increase  the  strife  and  divisions  He  had  already  kindled  ; 
and  it  was  a  prophecy  of  what  has  been  going  on  ever  since;  His 
Divinity  denied,  His  ministi'y  rejected.  His  Church  divided,  and 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  li<9 

rnit  l)_y  lieresies  find  scliisms.  And,  conld  any  one  but  God  liave 
torseen  this?  Or  have  fortold,  that  it  will  go  on  until  the  end  of 
the  world,  until  His  kingdom  luis  lost  its  dominion  over  men, 
and  faith  in  Him  is  almost  lost,  and  the  corruption  become  so 
genei'al,  that  God  can  endure  it  no  longer;  and  the  world  will  be 
destroj'ed  by  lire,  as  it  was  for  corrupting  itself  before,  by  water, 
and  the  unfaithful  will  perish,  together  with  tlie  unbelievers. 

And  although  He  was  thinking  of  His  own  awful  bap- 
tism b}''  blood,  it  looks  as  if  the  anticipation  of  the  evils  He  had 
foretold,  weighed  even  more  heavily  upon  His  mind  than  His 
Own  fate;  then,  turning  to  the  people,  He  addressed  to  them 
(me  of  those  familiar  discourses,  easily  understood  by  them,  re- 
specting judgments  of  the  weather  b}^  the  state  of  the  clouds  and 
winds.  They  could  discern  them,  and  determine  what  the  fu- 
ture would  be  ;  why  could  they  not  discern,  that  His  doctrines 
and  miracles  that  were  agitating  society  around  them,  proved 
that  the  Christ,  who  was  to  shake  all  nations,  had  come.  And  He 
concludes  with  the  warning  to  tliem,  to  make  haste,  judge  and 
choose,  what  is  right — between  His  Doctrines  and  the  Law,  be- 
tween Him  and  His  enemies, — before  it  was  too  late. 

There  is  but  little  recorded  of  the  events  of  this  journey, 
throngh  the  towns  and  villages  at  this  time;  but  soon  after, 
Christ  and  His  disciples  arriv^ed  at  Bethany,  where  He  cotnmonly 
made  His  home,  when  He  Avas  at  Jerusalem  or  in  its  vicinity. 
And  we  notice  on  what  friendly  terms  the  Lord, was  witli  that 
li,Vimble  family;  because  Martha's  coniplaint  to  Him,  respecting 
lier  sister,  shows  her  confidence  in  His  consideration  ;  and  how 
sure  she  was,  that  He  would  order  even  their  household  affairs 
with  justice. 

And  we  learn  from  this  incident,  tlie  character  of  the  two 
sisters.  Mary  had  heard  Christ,  and  not  only  believed  in  Him 
l)ut  had  chosen  the  good  part,  to  be  His  disciple  ;  and  He  told 
Martha,  it  shall  never  be  taken  away  from  her.    And  then,  with 


200  L  I  F  E    0  F    C  H  R  1 S  T . 

a  divine  grasp,  tlio  Lord  condenses  onr  salvation  to  a  jxniit, — onlv 
one  thing  needful;  tliat  is,  faitli  in  Ilini,  Avliicli  makes  one  su- 
perior to  tlie  anxieties  and  cares  for  the  tilings  of  this  life.  Mar- 
tha believed  in  Christ,  too;  because  St.  John  tells  us  later  in  her 
history,  that  Jesus  loved  both  Martha  and  Mary.  But  at  that 
time,  Avhich  was  six  months  earlier,  she  might  not  have  attained 
that  degree  of  faitli  her  sister  had. 

Little  incidents  like  tliis,  let  us  see  into  the  hearts  and 
homes  of  the  people  of  Judea,  all  these  years  ago, — wldch  won- 
derfully corroborate  tlie  whole  Gospel  narrative;  they  are  so 
simple,  so  natural,  so  like  to  what  i-hey  would  be  if  Christ  were 
the  long  expected  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God, — to  whom  earthly 
distinctions  are  nothing,  and  purity  of  heart,  and  holiness  of  life 
is  everything — that  they  give  a  stronger  assurance  of  the  truth 
and  reality  of  the  scene,  than  even  His  miracles.  Because  there  is 
no  suspicion,  or  probability  that  they  were  recorded  to  prove  His 
Divinity  ;  while  they  do  sliow  the  exercise  of  both  liumanity  and 
Divinity. 

THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES. 

Our  Lord  waited  at  Simon's  house  until  the  morning,  when 
He  went  up  to  Jerusalem.  It  was  His  custom  always,  when 
near  Jerusalem,  to  be  present  at  tlie  Daily  Sacrifice;  and  if  He 
arrived  atBethany  the  evening  l)efore,  it  is  proba])le  that  the  next 
day  was  the  beginning  of  the  Feast  ;  and  He  went  there  to 
teach.  And  it  was  there,  in  the  Temple,  that  He  was  told  of  the 
recent  atrocity  of  Pi'ate,  in  suppressing  a  revolt  among  the  Gal- 
ileans ;  when  he  savagely  punished  the  rioters,  while  they  were 
engaged  in  the  religious  duty  of  offering  sacrifi(;e,  and  caused 
their  blood  to  mingle  with  the  blood  of  the  animals. 

And  here,  as  on  all  occasions.  He  used  the  incident  to  give 
the  reporters  a  useful  lesson  ;  not  a  word  is  said  of  Pilate's  mei- 
cilessness, — that  would  be  repeated  to  His  injury;  but  He  knew 
the  minds  of  the  persons  present,  that  they  presumed   it  was 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  201 

God's  pun 'sliment  for  their  sins;  and  He  said,  "Nay;  but  ex- 
cept ye  repent,  ye  sliall  likewise  perish."  Pie  does  not  say  they 
were  not  punished  for  tlieir  sins,  but  tliey  were  not  the  chiefest 
sinners  in  Galilee;  admitting  that  there  is  a  connection  between 
sin  and  punishment,  bnt  that  it  is  not  in  man's  power  to  trace  it, 
and  it  was  not  for  them  to  jndge. 

And  again  He  asked,  if  they  thought  the  men  on  whom  the 
tower  in  Siloam  fell  were  tlie  chiefest  sinners  there.  And  Him- 
self answered  as  before,  Nay;  and  unless  they  repented,  they 
would  likewise  perish.  Ilepentan(^e  was  the  constant  theme 
of  His  teaching,  and  the  only  ground  with  faith  for  admis- 
sion to  His  kingdom  ;  the  only  hope,  through  His  one  great 
sacrifice,  for  salvation.  And  then  to  illustrate  His  meaning  He 
spoke  the 

PARABLE    OF    THE    BARREN    FIG    TREE. 

The  ancient  Chur(;li  was  called  the  Lord's  vineyard  ;  God 
was  its  Lord  ;  the  single  fig  tree,  with  its  sweet  fruit,  was  His 
covenant  people,  Israel.  But  it  was  barren;  three  years  the 
Lord  had  been  on  earth  seeking  fruit  from  it;  and  now  He,  the 
Dresser,  was  going  to  cut  it  down,  because  it  liad  borne  none. 
It  cumbered  the  ground, — it  occupied  tlie  place  He  wanted  for 
His  Vine  and  His  Yineyard  ;  and  then  He  represents  Himself  as 
pleading  for  it,  for  one  year  more,  or  until  His  present  year  of 
lal>or  had  ended,  and  then  it  will  be  cut  down.  It  was  a  warn- 
ing of  the  end,  which  was  fast  coming  to  the  ohl  kingdom;  it 
w;!S  a  practical  and  personal  application  to  the  Rulers  of  the 
Jews. 

Here  and  there  were  Pharisees  who  treated  Christ  cour- 
teously ;  but  it  does  not  appear  whethe]*  it  was  from  fiicndly  mo- 
tives, or  that  they  might  know  more  of  His  doctrine,  or  better 
scrutinize  His  miracles.  One  warned  Christ  that  Herod  had  evil 
intentions  towards  Him,  and  another  invited  Hira  to  dine  on  the 
Sabbatii,  when  there  was  a  man  present  who  had  the  dropsy  ; 


203  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Avliic'li  looks  as  if  it  were  intentional  to  see  if  He  would  heal  the 
man. 

And  knowing  tlio  plot,  Christ  asked  tlie  lawyers  and  Phari- 
sees if  it  M'cre  lawful  to  heal  on  the  Sahbatli?  And  thej  held 
their  peace.  And  He  healed  him,  and  let  him  go.  And  then 
He  di'd  something  quite  as  wonderful, — they  would  not  answer 
Him,  and  He  showed  them  He  could  make  them  keep  silent. 
"Which  of  you  having  a  beast  fallen  into  the  ditch  w'ill  not  pull 
him  out  on  the  Sabbath?"  And  their  silence  was  sealed  up  with 
shame.  Ko  shrewd  lawyer  or  crafty  Pharisee  ever  once  got  the 
better  of  Christ  in  such  like  attempts,  and  what  is  this  but  infal- 
libility, and  God  alone  is  infalli])le. 

Then  He  put  forth  a  Parable  to  them,  when  He  saw  their 
pride,  and  anxiety  for  recognition  of  rank  and  place;  and  by 
calling  it  the  invitation  to  a  wedding,  He  conveyed  a  lesson 
which  was  adapted  to  the  acuteness  of  such  minds  as  were  pj'es- 
ent;  enfoicing  the  duty  of  humility,  and  that  especially  as  es- 
sential for  admission  to  His  kingdom,  and  to  the  Last  Great 
Supper  of  the  Lamb;  telling  them  how  they  would  fare  then, 
and  there,  with  the  pride  and  desire  for  rank  and  place  they 
now  manifested.  And  He  concluded  with  advice  for  the  prac- 
tice of  humility  in  another  way,  which  no  doubt  seeilied  ridicu- 
lous to  them, — though  it  was  the  way  of  doing  good  to  the  poor, 
and  those  who  could  make  no  returns, — that  would  bring  eternal 
rank  and  exaltation  from  God.  One  among  the  guests  was  a 
true  Israelite  ;  he  believed  in  the  coming  kingdom  of  God, 
though  he  did  not  understand  the  meaning  of  his  own  words, 
nor  tlie  blessedness  of  eating  its  Sacramental  Bread.  And  then 
Christ  especially  addressed  to  him  the  parable  intended  for  all 
present,  and  for  all  mankii.d,  until  His  kingdom  is  gathered 
up  at  the  Judgment,  to  be  taken  to  the  kingdom  ia  Heaven 
above. 

It  was  the  Parable  of  Ihe  man  who  made  a  great  supper, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST  203 

and  hade  iiuiny  to  coine  for  :ill  things  were  ready  ;  and  all  ex- 
cused themselves,  hecaiite  of  some  worldly  cousideration.  The 
master,  being  angry,  told  the  servants  to  go  into  the  streets,  and 
lanes,  and  bring  the  poor,  the  halt,  tlie  maimed,  and  the  blind; 
and  when  tliis  was  done,  and  they  said,  "Yet  there  is  room,"  he 
sent  them  into  the  higliways  and  hedges  to  compel  men  to  come 
in,  that  liis  house  might  be  filled;  and  declared  that  none  of  them 
bidden  who  had  refused,  should  be  admitted. 

This  Parable  is  obscure  in  some  things,  and  He  gave  no  ex- 
planation to  His  disciples;  while  it  was  applicable  to  His  hearers 
it  was  also  prophetical,  and  would  be  best  understood  by  future 
generations. 

In  one  feature,  it  looked  back  to  all  the  world's  past  history, 
to  the  way  God's  truth  and  revelation  had  always  been  re- 
ceived by  mankind  ;  and  it  foretold  how  they  w^ould  continue  to 
be  until  time's  end.  The  cares,  and  duties,  and  pleasures  of  tliis 
life,  being  a  perpetual  excuse  among  men,  for  not  paying  to  God 
the  obligations  of  love  and  gratitude  for  His  love  and  mercies, 
by  obedience  to  His  Church  and  Law. 

God  is  the  certain  Man  who  made  the  Feast;  it  was  the 
Tree  of  Life  in  Paradise;  after  the  expulsion,  it  was  the  Bread 
and  Wine  of  Sacrifice  ;  since  Christ,  the  Sacramental  Bread  and 
Wine,  which  gives  the  eternal  life  man  lost  by  first  eating  the 
fruit  of  the  forbidden  tree. 

Or  it  may  refer  to  the  Baptist's  call  to  the  Jews,  wlien  God 
sent  him  to  tell  them  all  things  were  ready  for  tjiem  ;  it  is  so 
coujprehensive,  that  it  includes  the  call  of  the  Baptist  to  the 
Jews,  or  to  Christ's  personal  ministry,  or  to  the  sending  out  of 
the  Apostles  and  Seventy.  For  in  all  these  instances,  all  things 
were  I'eady  for  the  meek  and  humble  who  were  willing  to  believe 
and  come. 

In  the  first  instance,  the  guests  were  simply  invited  to  come; 
in  the  second  case  they  were  to  be  brought  in;  but  in  the  third 


204  LIFE    OF    CHRIST 

and  last,  tlicy  were  to  be  compelled  fiMin  the  lii<^li\vajs  and  liedi!;es. 
It  possil)]}^  refers  to  the  three  covenants  of  God  with  man  :  the  lirst 
with  Adam, — of  Sacrifice,  in  the  Blood  of  Animals;  the  second, 
with  Al)raham — of  Circumcision,  in  the  Blood  of  Man;  the  third, 
in  and  with  Ciirist,  in  the  Christian  Covenant  of  Baptism, — in 
the  Blood  of  the  God-Man,  through  whose  blood  under  the  for- 
mer covenants,  all  had  received  the  sign  and  seal  to  admit  them 
to  His  Great  Supper  in  Heaven. 

But  the  compulsory  woi-k  was  not  to  begin  until  the  Apos- 
tles received  their  great  conmiission  after  the  resurrection,  to  go 
into  all  the  highways  and  hedges  of  the  world,  and  compel  men 
to  come  in  by  the  wonderful  story  of  the  Son  of  God's  love  in 
coming  down  from  Heaveîi,  and  showing  His  love  unto  death 
for  their  salvation.  The  Sacramental  Bread  and  "VYine  of  His 
Church  is  the  Great  Supper, — because  it  is  the  completion  of  the 
Pascal  Supper,  because  it  increases  spiritual  strength  in  the  re- 
ceiver, and  because  it  entitles  the  receivers  to  the  Lamb's  Supper 
in  Heaven. 

Christ  had  already  told  these  Pharisees,  "Except  yo  eat  the 
flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in 
you  ;  "  and  ever  sint^e,  all  who  have  refused  the  compulsory  call 
to  His  kingdom,  belong  to  the  class  He  declares  ''shall  never 
taste  My  Supper.'^ 

The  conclusion  of  the  Parable,  "  I  say  unto  you,  none  of 
those  men  under  former  dispensations,  or  now,  who  were  called 
and  refused,  shall  taste  My  supper,"  was  to  proclaim  Himself 
the  Author  and  Giver  of  salvation,  and  eternal  life,  under  all  the 
dispensations.  No  word  is  said  of  the  way  such  an  announce- 
ment was  received;  but,  as  things  were,  it  was  certainly  prudent 
for  Him  to  soon  leave  Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


RETURN  FROM  JERUSALEM. 


After  the  feast,  Christ  departed  from  Jernsalem,  followed 
by  many  people,  going  towards  Galilee;  and  from  that  time 
there  was  a  decided  change  in  His  teaching  and  doctrines;  and 
the  Parables  are  less  obscure,  and  designed  to  interest  all  classes. 
Christ  often  stopped  on  His  jonrneys  to  instruct  the  people,  or 
work  miracles;  at  tliis  time  He  taught  them  respecting  dis- 
cipleship  to  Him, — saying,  tliey  must  be  willing  to  leave  wife 
and  children,  father  and  mother,  and  hate  their  own  lives  also 
for  His  sake. 

He  meant  hate  only  in  a  martyr  spirit,  because  His  own  ex- 
ample was  love  ;  but  they  must  endure  persecution,  as  He  had 
left  Heaven,  and  come  down  to  suffer  here  for  their  sakes.  Each 
one  must  patiently  bear  the  cross  of  the  hatred  of  man,  the  sliame 
of  excommunication  by  the  Rulers,  or  anything  opposing  their 
confessing  Him  : 

And  He  spake  the  Parable  of  a  man's  building  a  tower,  or 
a  king's  going  to  war;  each  must  reckon  the  cost  before  hebeo-ins, 
lest  failm\-  expose  him  to  ridicule.  So  they,  likewise,  each  one 
must  deliberately  bear  His  cross  to  obtain  His  salvation.  That  is, 
make  all  things  here  subordinate  to  doing  God's  will.  And  He 
enforced  the  lesson  by  the  figure  of  salt  losing  its  savor,  M^hich  is 


206  LIFE    OF     UHUIST. 

tlii'own  awîiy,  and  trodden  down  by  mon  ;  so  they  would  be  re- 
jected by  Iliin,  if  they  should  be  unfaithful  disciples. 

At  aiioth'jr  pliice  many  publicans  and  sinners  were  present, 
with  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  Christ  knew  the  hitter  innr- 
nnu'ed  liecause  He  manifested  no  displeasure  at  such  persons  ; 
}ind  He  spake  the  Parable  of  the  Lost  Sheep,  that  the  shepherd 
will  leave  ninety  and  nine  to  seek  one  straying  ;  and  when  he 
finds  it,  calls  his  neighbors  to  rejoice  with  him.  And  then  He 
told  them  news  from  Heaven,  which  God  onl^'  could  know,  that 
the  angels  rejoice  when  one  sirmer  repents,  more  than  over 
ninety  and  nine  who  need  no  repentance. 

It  was  a  rebuke  of  their  unbelief  and  self-righteousness; 
telling  them  He  had  come  from  Heaven,  into  this  wilder- 
ness of  men  estranged  from  God,  to  seek  sinners,  as  prophecy 
said  the  Messiah  would  do. 

Then  Christ  spake  the  Parable  of  the  Lost  Piece  of  Silver, 
a  woman  seeks  it — showing  He  had  come  to  transfer  His  love 
and  care  for  sinners,  to  His  bride  the  Church;  the  coin  stamped 
with  the  king's  image,  represented  a  disciple  signed  and  sealed 
in  His  Name  ;  these  the  Church  will  seek  when  from  infirmity 
they  fail,  and  are  lost  for  time  from  His  treasury.  And  He  i-e- 
peated  by  His  divine,  '  I  say  unto  you,"  the  angels  of  God  will 
rejoice  over  every  such  penitent  who  returns. 

If  the  angels  rejoiced  at  creation,  and  when  Jesus  was  born, 
how  reasonable  that  they  should  rejoice  in  mens'  salvation  ? 
He  said  every  Christian  has  a  guardian  angel  in  Heaven  ;  and 
St.  Paul's  commentary  on  His  words  is,  "  They  minister  to  all 
who  sliall  be  heirs  of  salvation." 

And  the  Parable  of  the  Two  Sous,  is  another  example  of 
Christ's  teaching  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  telling  them 
how  they  looked  i")efore  God,  in  comparison  with  penitent  Pub- 
lic:ins  and  sinners;  and  it  applied  also  to  the  Church  and  nation. 
For  tiie  elder  son  represented  the  Israelites,  and  the  younger  son 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  207 

the  Gentiles, — who  departed  from  tlie  Father's  house,  and  lost 
their  righteousness  and  knowledge  of  His  law,  and  were  feeding 
on  the  husks  of  their  false  religions. 

And  it  had  a  future  application,  the  elder  son  to  any  Chris- 
tian unthankful  for  God's  mercies,  and  murmuring  hecause  the 
less  righteous  are  more  blessed  ;  or  tlie  jounger  son  who  squan- 
ders his  youthful  innocence  and  baptismal  grace  in  sin  ;  and 
then  comes  to  himself  and  resoh^es  to  return,  and  then  the 
Father  hastens  to  receive  him,  and  the  angels  rejoice.  The 
Father  did  not  say  the  elder  son  must  rejoice,  because  my  son  is 
found;  but  your  brother  is  found.  The  lesson  is — separation 
from  God,  is  misery;  union  witii  Him,  is  peace  and  salvation. 

Thus  Christ  used  all  the  ways  of  men,  as  well  as  the  laws 
of  nature,  and  natural  objects,  to  illustrate  God's  dealings  with 
them  ;  and  there  is  no  otlier  way  imaginable  by  which  spiritual 
mysteries  could  so  well  be  explained  ;  and  none  but  God  could 
have  known  so  well  how  to  apply  them.  And  we  arn  inde])ted  to 
those  spies,  who  watched  Christ  to  prove  His  miracles,  necro- 
mancy, or  His  teaclimgs  false,  for  many  of  the  most  interesting 
proofs,  that  His  miracles  were  by  the  power  of  God,  and  His 
doctrines  the  truth  of  God  ;  and  notwithstanding  their  hatred 
He  proved  His  Divine  love,  by  striving  to  make  them  believe  in 
Him,  and  to  repent. 

And  He  spake  the  Parable  of  the  unjust  steward,  which  is 
general  as  well  as  personal,  and  universal  in  its  application. 
God  is  the  rich  man,  and  the  Rulers  of  His  Church,  the  unjust 
steward.  He  was  accused  of  wasting  his  lord's  goods  ;  and  the 
charge  was  just, — he  was  dishonest  ;  l^ecause  when  called  to  give 
his  account,  he  resolved  on  more  dishonesty,  and  to  implicate 
others  for  his  benefit.  And  when  his  lord  heard  of  it,  he  com- 
mended liis  worldly  wisdoin, — not  his  fraud, — but  his  shrewd  ras- 
cally cunning,  Avhich  wicked  men  call  wise  :  because  he  acted 
more  wise  tluir.  God's  children  do,  in  trying  to  provide  a  iieavenly 


208  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

habitation  fur  tliemselves,  wlien  they  are  removed  from  their 
earthly  stewardship.  Christ  liad  come  to  turn  the  old  Rulers  out 
of  God's  Kingdom;  but  they  were  making  no  provision  for  them- 
selves, by  forestalling  an  entrance  into  His  Kingdom. 

And  He  bears  down  on  them  with  the  severe  irony, — to 
make  themselves  friends  of  mammon,  the  God  of  Kiclujs,  of 
this  world's  wealth,  that  when  God  turns  them  out,  He  may 
receive  them  into  everlasting  habitations.  It  was  also  a  warn- 
ing to  His  Disciples,  to  take  heed  how  they  used  the  steward- 
ship, which  He  was  transferring  to  them,  and  act  more  wisely, 
that  when  they  were  called  to  account,  they  might  be  received 
into  a  Heavenly  home.  And  He  cautioned  them  to  be  faithful  in 
their  least  duties,  because  that  would  ensure  fidelity  in  greater 
ones  ;  and  warned  them  that  it  is  hopeless  to  expect  anything 
but  eternal  poverty  in  the  life  to  come,  if  we  have  been  unfaith- 
ful to  the  trust  God  has  committed  to  us  here.  Of  the  true 
riches  of  the  Heavenly  kingdom,  He  will  give  them  none;  and  it 
is  useless  to  try  to  serve  two  masters,  God  and  the  World, — He 
wants  no  divided  heart  :  "  He  who  loveth  Father  or  Mother 
more  than  Me,  is  not  worthy  of  Me  ;  "  and  he  who  Avill  not  give 
up  all  to  be  Christ's  disciple,  is  not  worthy  of  His  love  and  His 
great  salvation.  This  is  an  example  of  the  jjractical  teaching  of 
Christ  ;  there  is  no  circumlocution.  He  drives  the  truth  right 
home  to  the  mind  and  henrt. 

The  Pharisees  saw  the  application  of  Christ's  w'ords,  and 
they  could  not  controvert  them  ;  so  they  derided  Him,  tiius  con- 
fessing their  defeat.  And  He  turned  on  them,  rebuking  their 
covetousnoss,  and  self-righteousness,  and  hypocrisy  before  men; 
telling  them  God  knew  their  hearts,  and  they  were  abominable 
in  His  sigiit. 

And  Christ's  boldness  increased,  in  teacliing  that  the  king- 
dom was  passing  away  fiom  the  Rulers  to  the  new  kingdom  of 
God.     He  said,  "The  Law  and  the  Prophets  were  until  John," 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  209 

that  salvfition  bj  the  Law  then  ended;  and  conkl  he  had  onlj  by 
the  new  way  of  faith  in  Him,  repentance,  and  admission  to  Ilia 
kingdom.  Not  that  tlie  Law  liad  failed,  or  would  not  forever 
continue  in  force;  but  as  it  was  mterpreted,  hj  His  Gospel  and 
kingdom.  And  He  gave  the  example  of  the  way  they  made  di- 
vorce easy,  as  one  of  their  perversions  of  it.  Moses  allowed  it, 
only  because  of  the  hardness  of  their  hearts. 

All  we  know  certainly  of  the  intermediate  state,  Mdiere  the 
spirits  of  men  are  between  deatli  and  the  resurrection,  was  taught 
by  Christ.  Hebrews  and  Pagans  believed  in  a  kingdom  of  the 
dead  called  Hades,  having  two  departments,  Elyseum  and  Tar- 
tarus; and  Christ's  parable  of  the  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus  proves 
how  well  the  doctrine  had  been  preserved  by  tradition, — the  two 
men  representing  the  two  conditions  into  which  men  are  there 
divided. 

The  beggar's  name  was  Lazarus;  the  rich  man's  is  not  told 
because  lie  had  no  name  written  in  the  Book  of  Life.  Li  this 
world  their  conditions  were  perfect  contrasts,  and  in  that  world 
tliey  were  exactly  reversed  ;  the  giver  of  crumbs  begged  for 
drops  of  water,  and  was  denied.  And  one  soon  found  out  that 
Hell, — and  the  other,  that  Heaven, — would  be  his  future  eternal 
abode. 

Dives  called  Abraham  father;  lie  was,  therefore,  one  of  God's 
covenant  children  ;  and  he  was  told  he  had  had  liis  o-ood  tilings 
in  this  life,  and  there  were  none  for  him  there.  Is  this  iiction, 
or  even  a  Parable?  Could  Christ,  who  never  misrepresented  any 
earthly  thing,  deceive  concerning  a  sjDiritual  one?  The  seeing 
and  communicating  may  be  real;  we  see  millions  of  miles  into 
space,  and  the  worlds  there,  and  can  send  our  thoughts  millions 
of  miles  into  space  by  one  impulse  of  the  will;  and  spiritual 
beings  may  do,  as  Christ  there  represents. 

We  learn  also  anotlier  fact,  that  death  cliangcs  neither  our 
identitv  nor  feelin2;s.     The  rich  man  was  anxious  that  his  breth» 


210  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

ren  sliouM  not  come  to  liis  plncc  of  torment;  but  tlie  pnintly 
bej^jgar's  joy  is  not  tokl, — eitlier  because  we  could  not  understand 
it,  or  else  it  would  niaUe  us  ini]);(t:ent  in  lieariui;  our  crosses,  Jiud 
Wiuting  for  that  lii<2;her  life.  And  Christ  twice  proved  A))r:>." 
ham's  words  true,  that  men  would  not  believe  tliough  one  rose 
from  the  dead;  because  after  IIo  raised  Lazarus,  and  Himself  re- 
turned to  this  world  from  Pai-adise,  and  Ilomau  Soldiei's  testilied 
it  to  the  Hulers,  they  were  as  unbelieving  as  before.  And  now, 
modern  Pharisees  are  as  unlKdieving  as  they  were  then. 

Where  Christ  passed  His  time  in  Galilee,  is  not  related;  but 
the  time  for  His  departure,  never  to  return  until  after  His  res- 
urrection, was  near.  And  He  then  gave  the  Apostles  and  Sev- 
enty personal  instructicm  for  their  warning  and  encouragement. 
And  He  concealed  from  them  none  of  the  dangers  or  ditticulties 
that  awaited  them;  they  nmst  suffer  for  His  sake,  in  doing  the 
work  He  would  commit  to  them;  but  men  had  better  be  cast 
into  the  sea  and  .drowned,  than  to  offend  one  of  tl>e  least  of  them. 
■  AV^hile  He  aimed  to  inspire  tlieir  courage  to  endure  persecu- 
tions, He  cautioned  them  to  beware  not  to  do  anything  to  de- 
serve reproof  themselves;  and  to  forgive  offences  according  to 
the  new  rule  He  had  given  them.  Tluis  He  gradually  trained 
and  taught  them  how  to  go  on  witluuit  Him,  when  the  kingdoui 
shovdd  come  and  rest  on  them.  And  they,  either  conscious  of 
their  inability,  or  ambitious  for  more  power,  asked  Him  to 
increase  their  faith;   which  was  asking  what  God  only  could  do. 

And  to  that  petition  He  replied,  if  they  had  faith  like  a 
grain  of  mustard  seed,  they  could  say  to  a  neighboring  sy(^amore 
tree,  "  Be  thou  plucked  up  and  cast  into  the  sea,  and  it  would 
obey."  That  promise  has  been  said  to  be  hypei'bole,  and  unM'oi-thy 
of  Christ;  but  the  Apostles  knew  He  had  given  them  ]  owei-  over 
devils  and  diseases,  and  they  did  not  doubt  it, — for  they  had  seen 
Him  command  the  winds  and  waves,  and  they  obeyed  Him.  A 
self-axtting  universe,  or  uncontrolled  by  its  Creator,  is  pantheism. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  211 

There  can  ho  no  power  without  a  Creator,  and  no  force  without 
law  to  i>-overn  it;  no  hiw  without  a  Lawgiver,  who  can  amend, 
control,  or  annul  it.  If  Christ  could  do  this,  He  could  also  give 
the  power  to  others,  on  any  conditions  He  chose. 

Here  also  is  another  incidental  fact,  to  prove  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  narrative,  that  Clu'ist  was  then  in  Galilee;  because 
this  species  of  the  sycamore,  an  indigenous  mull)erry,  is  said  to 
have  grown  nowhere  in  Palestine,  but  in  Lower  Galilee. 

The  sudden  transition  of  our  Lord's  teaching,  to  the  duties 
of  servants  waiting  on,  and  submitting  to  their  Lord,  seemingly, 
was  said  in  reference  to  the  secret  thoughts  of  the  Apostles,  and 
the  desire  for  power  to  do  such  mighty  acts  as  they  knew^  He 
could  do.  But  they  nuist  wait  until  He  had  prepared  His  king- 
dom,— then  they  should  eat  and  drink  in  it  and  exercise  His 
power;  but,  to  repress  their  pride,  He  said  after  they  had  done 
all,  they  mnst  confess  themselves  nnprofitable  servants — the  pow- 
er belongs  only  to  God.  Their  petition  shows  that  they  believed 
that  in  Him  was  that  divine  power  wliich  controls  all  natural  law, 
which  holds  the  worlds  suspended  in  space,  that  gave  the  move- 
ments to  all  the  celestial  bodies,  that  their  laws  were  under  His 
control,  and  ever  ready  to  obey  His  will;  and  without  that  faith, 
man's  reason  and  senses  are  too  dull  to  perceive  it.  So  they  had 
asked  for  increased  faith,  l)ecause  any  faith  or  knowledge  short 
of  this  is  inchoate  and  un-Christian. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

GOING  UP  TO  JERUSALEM. 

Christ  went  from  Galilee,  passing  tln'ongh  Samaria,  to  tlic 
region  of  Judea  beyond  Jordan  ;  and  but  few  clews  arc  preserved 
to  tell  us  where  He  tarried,  or  what  He  said  and  did  ;  but  now 
and  then  the  veil  lifts.  He  sent  messengers  befoie  Him  to  pre- 
pare His  way;  and  in  a  Samaritan  village  the  people  declined  to 
receive  Him,  because  He  was  going  to  Jerusalem.  And  James  and 
John  wei'e  indignant,  and  asked  Him  to  call  down  fii'e  from 
Heaven  to  consume  them.  But  He  rebuked  them,  saying.  He 
had  not  come  to  destroy  men,  but  to  save  them.  Here  are  two  facts 
to  prove  the  truth  and  genuineness  of  the  Grospel, — the  known 
animosity  of  Jews  and  Samaritans,  and  the  faith  in  the  disciples, 
— that  Christ  had  poAver  in  Heaven  and  over  the  elements. 

At  another  village,  when  aman  desired  to  become  a  disciple, 
Christ  said  to  him,  "  The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the 
air  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  His  head." 
No  more  is  said  of  him;  he  was  tried,  and  found  wanting,  and 
went  his  way.  Another  said,  "I  will  follow  Thee,  but  let  me 
first  go  and  bid  them  farewell  at  home;"  but  He,  too,  Avas  unfit 
for  the  kingdom  of  God.  Christ  knew  who  could  bear  His  cross; 
and  He  sifted  out  the  chaff,  and  chose  only  those  who  had  the 
manhood  to  endure  persecution  for  His  sake. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  213 

It  was  on  this  journey  that  He  met  the  ten  lepers,  Avho  cried 
from  afar  for  mercy,  whom  He  sent  to  show  themselves  to  the 
priests  ;  leprosy  was  infectious,  and  lepers  lived  in  the  suburbs 
of  towns;  it  was  a  type  of  sin,  and  supposed  incurable  but  by 
God.  The  lepers  called  Christ,  Master,  and  confessed  their  faith 
by  asking  Him  to  cure  them. 

On  a  former  occasion  He  healed  a  leper  by  His  touch,  prov- 
ing that  He  was  superior  to  its  infection  ;  but  now,  witliout  a 
word  or  touch,  He  sent  them  to  the  priests;  and  as  they  went 
they  were  healed.  The  going  to  the  priests  had  a  three-fold 
object:  first,  a  trial  of  their  faith;  second,  it  fulfilled  the  Law, 
which  required  a  leper  to  be  pi-onounced  clean  by  the  priest,  be- 
fore he  could  be  restored  to  the  congregation;  third,  it  revealed 
to  them  that  Christ,  the  Immanuel,  had  come. 

Tlie  lepers  supposed  they  M^ere  sent  to  the  priests  to  be  cured, 
but  found  themselves  well  before  they  reached  them,  and  so  knew 
He  had  restored  them  ;  but  only  one,  a  Samaritan,  returned  to 
give  thanks,  and  with  "a  loud  voice  glorified  God;"  and  Christ 
asked,  "  Were  there  not  ten  cleansed  ?  But  where  are  the  nine  ?" 
To  this  one.  He  said,  "Thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole."  The 
wholeness  w-as  not  his  healing, — that  was  done  before  he  re- 
turned ;  it  was  the  other  cleansing  He  had  come  to  bring,  cleans- 
ing from  sin,  and  for  salvation 

And  there  was  a  lesson  for  all  mankind,  and  all  times,  in 
this:  that  when  they  cry  to  God  for  mercy,  and  He  hears  their 
cry,  if  they  return  Him  thr.nks,  then  their  affliction  and  recovery 
have  been  sanctified  to  them,  and  new  spiritual  blessings  will  be 
conferred.  WJiile  those  who  feel  no  gratitude  show  their  un- 
worthiness  for  their  mercies,  and  ar&  left  to  perish  in  their  in- 
gratitude and  unbelief. 

After  Christ  came  into  Judea,  the  hostile  Pharisees  renew 
their  temptations  and  assaults,  asking  Him  a  question  about  mar- 
riage.   There  were  two  parties  in  the  Sanhedrim,  holdinç:  differ- 


214  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 


eut  opinions  respecting  divorce  ;  and  this  party  belonged  to  the 
most  powerful  one,  which  admitted  divorce  for  trivial  causes. 
And  knowing  our  Lord's  strict  views  of  the  Law,  supposed  He 
would  discountenance  it  for  every  cause  except  adultery;  and 
then,  they  would  accuse  Him  of  teaching  contrary  to  Moses. 

And  here,  again,  we  perceive  how  readily  He  saw  through 
their  motives;  and  how  effectually  He  turned  their  craft  to  their 
condemnation  and  confusion, — for  they  were  silenced.  He  first 
referred  them  to  Moses,  and  asked  what  he  said  ;  and  then  told 
them  it  was  for  the  hardness  of  their  hearts,  the  permission  was 
given.  Thus  He  exonerated  Moses,  and  charged  the  criminality 
of  easy  divorce  on  themselves. 

Then  He  referred  them  to  God's  original  Law,  enacted  at 
man's  creation  when  He  did  not  make  the  woman  from  elemen- 
tary matter,  but  took  her  out  of  the  man,  that  man  and  wife 
mio-ht  be  truly  one, — never  two,  always  one  flesh,  joined  togeth- 
er by  God;  that  out  of  them  should  come  the  one  family,  and 
one  world  of  mankind,  to  be  a  perpetual  rule  for  the  race, — and 
not  to  be  severed  by  man,  except  for  cause  given  by  God.  And 
how  this  brings  out  the  sacredness  of  the  relation. 

But  this  was  not  all  Christ  did;  He  revoked  Moses'  permis- 
sion, and  by  His  own  divine  authority — which  they  so  often 
hetird, — "I  say  unto  you,"  and  as  the  King  of  the  new  kingdom, 
gave  a  new  Law,  fixing  the  life  for  life,  indissoluble  by  man,  ex- 
cept for  fornication,  and  declaring  any  other  divorce  adultery; 
and  whoever  married  the  woman,  an  adulterer, — and  so,  necessa- 
rily, marrying  the  man,  an  adulteress. 

How  much  the  world  is  indebted  to  those  Rtrocious  enemies 
(»f  our  Divine  Lord,  for  deeply  interesting  instruction,  which  it 
mi'dit  never  have  had  but  for  their  malevolence;  and  how  God 
made  their  wrath  to  praise  Plim,  and  bless  the  world. 

And  St.  Matthew  confesses,  that  the  disciples  were  so  in- 
fected with  this  Jewish  blindness,  that  they  said  to  our  Lord. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  215 

tliat,  if  sueli  were  the  case,  it  M'ere  not  good  for  a  man  to  marrj. 
They  had  not  perceived,  that  God  appointed  it  for  the  beneficent 
purpose  of  making  each  family  a  little  kingdom  for  disciplining 
the  members,  binding  them  togetlier  in  unity,  and  pin'ity,  and 
godly  love,  wliere  children  are  to  be  trained  for  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  citizenship  on  earth,  and  fitted  for  the  kingdom  of  Heav- 
en. Tiie  tie  must  be  of  the  strongest  human  affection,  stronger, 
even,  than  the  filial  relationship, — to  leave  father  and  mother  that 
the  twain  may  be  one.  And,  as  Milton  says,  it  is  the  only  bliss 
of  Paradise  which  has  survived  man's  expulsion  from  it. 

Soon  after,  tliere  happened  another  of  tliose  scenes  in  our 
Savior.]'" ij  life,  which  makes  such  a  lovely  Gospel  picture  ;  and 
manifests  to  us  His  tenderness  to  the  children,  taking  them  in 
His  arms  and  blessing  them.  Yisil)le- membership  of  infants  in 
the  kingdom  of  God  existed  from  the  beginning  ;  and  always  on 
the  parents'  faith;  they  were  admitted  to  the  Patriarchal  Church 
by  sacrifice,  to  the  Hebrew  Cluu'ch  by  circumcision,  and  to  the 
Christian  by  His  appointment,  by  baptism. 

And  His  words,  "  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God,"  have  a 
deep  significancy  ;  because  in  all  times  the  majority. of  the  king- 
dom have  been  children.  In  all  times  more  than  half  of  the  race 
have  died  before  passing  that  age,  or  had  connnitted  actual  sin  ; 
and  so  the  kingdom  is  chiefly  composed  of  them,  through  the 
covenants  v/hich  made  them  piirtakers  of  Christ's  redemption. 
Tkus  He  taught  that  unoonsciousness  »of  the  blessing;  is  no  bar 
to  tlie  reception  of  regeneration  and  the  new  spiritual  life,  any 
more  than  unconsciousness  at  the  natural  birth  is  any  bar  to  the 
Adamic  life. 

So,  also,  did  the  laying  on  of  our  Lord's  hands,  the  Great 
Bishop  and  Shepherd  of  souls,  upon  these  children  who  had  been 
in  God's  covenant  from  infancy,  mean  moi-e  than  the  expression 
of  kindness;  it  was  accompanied  by  prayer,  and  conveyed  a  Divine 
blessing — surely  the  transfer  of  the  rite  of  Confirmation  from 


216:  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Judaism  to  Cliristianify.  It  was  a  precedent  for  His  kingdom, 
and  for  pa  rents  to  bring  their  children  for  admission  in  baptism, 
and  the  spiritual  blessings  obtained  in  Contirniation  ;  and  that 
they  have  rights  there,  which  none  may  debar  them  from. 

And  the  Church  lias  woven  this  scene  in  her  Lord's  life 
into  her  Ritual,  in  the  Baptismal  office,  saying,  "  Ye  perceive 
how  by  Ilis  outward  gesture  and  deed  He  declared  His  good 
will  toward  them.  Doubt  ye  not,  therefore,  but  earnestly  l)elieve 
that  lie  will  likewise  favorably  receive"  (your  children  in  Holy 
Baptism)  "that  He  will  oiiibrace  them  in  the  arms  of  His 
mercy  ;  that  He  will  give  unto  them  the  blessings  of  eternal 
life,  and  make  them  partakers  of  His  Everlasting  Kingdom." 
Nor  is  this  all;  parents  and  sponsors  are  to  look  after  the  chil- 
dren, to  see  them  tanght,  and  tnke  care  that  they  ])e  brought  U) 
the  lîishop  to  be  Confirmed  by  him — so  soon  as  they  are  of 
sufficient  age  and  instructed. 

And  St.  M^rk  adds  other  words  of  our  Lcu'd,  at  that  time, 
"  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  a  little 
child  he  shall  not  enter  therein;"  that  is,  that  adults  must  have 
the  faith,  meekness  and  docility — if  they  have  not  the  innocence 
— of  ciiildhood,  before  they  are  lit  for  admission  to  His  Kingdom. 

Meaiiwhile  a  certain  man  came  to  Christ,  and  asked  Him 
"  what  he  should  do  to  obtain  eternal  life  'f  He  was  young 
and  wealthy,  and  we  learn  from  the  question,  how  Christ's  doc- 
trines were  beginning  to  be  understood  ;  the  eternal  life  mean- 
ing, a  future  eternal  life  with  God  in  Heaven.  He  had  felt  the 
quickening  power  of  the  new  and  fuller  revelations  of  the 
iuture  life,  that  Christ's  teacliing  had  revealed,  and  desired  to 
know  how  he  might  be  nuule  ])ai'taker  of  it.  . 

And  Christ  asked  him,  "  Why  callest  thou  Me  good  ?  "  He 
knew,  that  not,  faith,  but  curiosity  had  brought  him  to  inquire; 
he  did  not  recognise  Him  as  God  the  Saviour,  but  only  as  a 
learned  Rabbi;    and  so  Christ  said,  "There  is  none  good  but 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  217 

one,  tliat  is  GOD."  And  becunse  the  man  looked  on  Him  only 
as  H  prophet,  He  answerd  his  qnestion  by  referring  him  to  the 
Law,  to  "  Ivcep  the  commandments;"  and  he  said  he  had  done 
so  from  his  youth.  But  Christ  knew  his  self  righteousness  and 
Want  of  faitl),  and  said  to  him  "  one  thing  thou  lackest;  sell  all 
that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treas- 
ure in  Heaven."  That  world  looked  too  far  off,  to  make  invest- 
ments in;  and  he  went  away  sorrowful,  the  beginning  of  a 
never  ending  sorrow.  He  had  neither  the  faith,  nor  the  character 
to  make  a  good  disciple;  our  Lord  knew  it,  and  He  made  him 
see  it. 

The  disciples  perceived  that  Christ  meant,  not  onl}^  riches, 
but  an  inordinate  desire  for  them,  would  hinder  men's  salvation; 
and  they  were  amazed,  and  asked,  "  Who  then  can  be  saved  ?  " 
The  saying  that  "It  is  easier  fora  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of 
a  needle,  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  Heaven," 
was  a  proverbial  expression  for  anything  which  seemed  impos- 
sible; and  the  saying,  "That  all  things  are  possible  to  God,  was 
aimed  at  the  doctrine  of  possibilités,  common  among  the  Aca- 
demicians and  philosophers,  that  "  nothing  is  possible  but  what 
is  true,  or  is  going  to  be  true," — which  is  the  doctrine  of  fate,  all 
else  is  chance.  No  God  can  make  riches  help  men  into  the 
Kingdom,  and  make  them  blessings  to  those  who  nse  them  for 
His  glory  after  they  are  in  it. 

Then  answered  Feter,  and  said  unto  Him,  "  Behold  we 
have  forsaken  all,  and  followed  Thee:  what  shall  we  have  there- 
fore ?  "  It  is  remarkable,  that  every  incident  in  our  Lord's  life, 
or  in  the  persons  named  in  the  Gospel,  tends  to  illustrate  some 
dogma  of  His  religion  or  Kingdom  ;  and  as  often  as  8t.  Peter 
appears  in  the  narrative  and  speaks  or. acts,  some  new  charac- 
teristic of  the  man,  or  new  truth  flashes  out.  And  no  more  gen- 
nine  man,  appears  in  the  history  of  our  race  ; — now  bold  and 
impetuous,  now  weak  and  cowardly  ;  first  an  imperfect  Christian, 


218  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

afterwards  a  heroic  saint  and  martyr.  And  he  passed  through 
all  the  phases,  connnon  in  the  life  of  all  Christians,  in  rising 
from  a  state  of  sin  and  ignorance  to  one  of  righteousness  and 
knowledge. 

How  perfectly  natural  and  human  was  his  question,  "What 
shall  we  have,  who  have  forsaken  all?"  Thei'e  was  un-Christian 
selfishness  in  it,  which  had  no  accord  in  anything  he  had  heard 
from,  or  seen,  in  Christ.  It  manifested  a  calculating  spirit,  a 
hankering  for  loaves  and  fishes  of  power,  a  working  for  wages, 
r;itlier  than  from  faith  and  love;  it  was  natural,  in  the  child- 
hood of  his  Christian  life,  and  Christ  did  not  rebuke  his  weak- 
ness, hut  encouraged  him  to  forsake  all  for  Him. 

Peter's  Christian  life  began  in  weakness,  and  continued  so 
until  after  our  Lord's  resurrection  ;  then  came  a  great  turning 
point,  of  new  development  of  spiritual  force,  which  made  him 
one  of  the  boldest  of  the  Apostles  in  preaching  and  suffering  for 
Christ  ;  his  selfishness  was  turned  to  self-denial  and  love,  tliat 
patiently  endured  martyrdom  for  the  Lord  he  thrice  denied. 
This  was  the  way  Peter  followed  Christ,  "in  the  regeneration." 

And  for  him,  and  the  other  faithful  Apostles,  which  exclu- 
ded Judas,  Cin-ist  promised  them  in  the  world's  regeneration 
seats  on  twelve  thrones;  and  the  judgment,  or  condemnation  of 
the  posterity  of  the  twelve  tribes,  who  rejected  Ilim.  Kegener- 
ation  is  a  wide  reaching  term  and  root:  First,  "a  cu-relative  and 
opposite  of  original  sin,"  lifting  the  regenerated  to  a  spiritual 
life;  Second,  the  raising  of  mankind,  a  fallen  world  out  of  that 
nioral  darkness  in  which  Christ  found  it;  and  finall}^  by  restor- 
ing Creation  from  the  evils  sin  introduced  into  it,  and  making 
men  innnortal. 

The  work  of  the  Baptist,  and  CHRIST  and  His  Apostles, 
was  the  beginning  of  the  Regeneration  of  the  old  kingdom  of  God 
from  a  carnal  to  a  spiritual  state,  by  which  it  was  to  work  the 
world's  regeneration;   first  translating  Judaism  into  Chiifctianity, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  219 

tlien  translating  Pagandom  into  Christendom  ;  and  at  last,  in 
tlie  end  of  time,  regenerating  Creation  by  fire,  and  making  it 
eternal. 

After  the  Son  of  Man  was  glorified  in  Heaven,  the  Holy 
Ghost  came  to  (^arry  on  the  work  of  regeneration  Christ  began; 
and  tlie  Apostles  reccived  Plis  Apostolic  power,  Matthias  being 
numbered  with  the  Eleven,  and  their  thrones  were  raised  in  His 
Kingdom  ;  through  them  His  power  has  ever  since  been  exercised, 
and  now  they  occupy  tliem  in  the  Gospel  and  in  His  Kingdom. 
And  now  they  are  judges  of  the  twelve  tribes,  scattered  over  the 
globe;  and  condemn  their  ancestors  for  unjustly  condemning  the 
Son  of  God,  now  on  tlie  throne  of  His  glory  in  Heaven,  yet 
ever  present  with  His  Church  and  ministry  on  earth. 

Thus  our  Lord  directl}-  declared,  that  His  power,  as  this 
Great  High-Priest  and  Apostle  sent  from  the  Father,  was  to  be 
given  to  the  twelve.  And  wliile  He  in  Heaven,  would  continue 
on  the  Throne  of  His  glory  as  the  one,  only,  everlasting  Head, 
from  whom,  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  all  the  power  of  the 
ministiy  to  regenerate  men  and  the  world  would  come  ;  so 
when  Matthias  was  chosen,  the  eleven  prayed  to  Christ,  in 
Heaven,  and  said,  "  Thou  Lord  AVlio  knowest  the  hearts  of  all 
.  men  show  wliich  of  these  two  Thou  hast  chosen." 

And  He  concluded  with  the  gracious  promise,  iiiut  all  who 
forsake  all  for  Him,  shall  receive  a  hundited  fol'd,  wifh  persecu- 
tions ;  "  and  all,"  was  an  answer  to  both  tile  rich  young  man,  and 
St.  Peter's  question:  all  feuch  "  s^adl  inherit  everlasting  life." 

But  there  are  first  who  will  be  last,  a"nd  hv^t  who  will  be 
first  ;  it  depends  on  the  privileges  we  have,  and  the  way  we  use 
them,  who  will  be  ûv6t  and  wiio  last,  in  the  Heavenly  Kino-dom. 
to  whom  much  is  given,  of  them,  much  will  be  required.  And 
they  will  rank  bektw  othci's,  who,  with  less  help  or  blessino-g, 
Uriod  them  for  God's  glory,  and  the  world's  benefit. 

/a\(]   then,  as  ir  to  give    the   Apostles  some  further  li^-ht 


?2(>  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

respecting  St".  Peter's  question,  He  spake  to  tlieni  the  Parable  of 
the  Laljorers  in  tlie  Vineyard.  The  vineyard  is  God's  kin<^doni 
on  eartli  ;  the  Cluirch  being,  as  it  were,  a  Province  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  in  Heaven  ;  the  laborers  here,  are  working  for  its 
eternal  M'jiges,  when  the  kingdom  will  I  e  annexed  to  the 
Heavenly  Empire. 

And  it  represents  all  mankind  as  divided  into  two  great 
classes — the  laborers  in  the  vineyard,  and  the  idlers  outside  ;  and 
all  admitted,  who  are  ready  and  willing  to  work  as  soon  as  they 
are  called.  To  serve  God,  to  escape  Hell,  is  tlie  obedience  of  a 
slave  :  to  serve  for  tlie  reward  of  Heaven,  is  tlie  act  of  an  hire- 
ling ;  but  to  obey  from  love  and  gratitude  to  God,  is  what 
Christ  inculcated,  and  makes  us  His  true  children. 

This  life  is  the  working-time  in  His  Kingdom,  the  life 
hereafter  will  be  the  paying  time;  God  calls  the  laborers  who 
will  work,  and  He  will  reward  them  justly  and  liberally, — for  He 
can  do  as  He  mhII  with  His  own. 

The  work-day  began  at  six  o'clock,  and  the  laborers  were 
called  early  in  the  morning,  and  at  the  third,  sixth,  ninth  and 
eleventh  hours  ;  a  penny  promised  the  first,  the  other's  whatever 
was  right.  It  looks  as  if  these  liours  represented  the  stages  of 
infancy,  childhood,  youth,  manhood,  and  old  age  ;  infants  called 
in  holy  baptism,  the  others  at  different  stages, — idlers  in  the  nuir- 
ket,  but  going  as  soon  as  called. 

The  Penny  is  "  the  gift  of  God,  eternal  life,"  v/hicli  He 
sives  to  whom  Ho  will,  and  refuses  to  none  who  work  for  it. 
The  last  called,  were  iirst  paid  ;  the  aged,  woi'ked  but  one  hour. 
When  the  tirst  came  they  received  a  penny,  but  murmured;  be- 
cause others  who  had  done  less  work  had  the  same  wages.  And 
so  they  were  last,  in  as  much  as  they  received  less  in  propor- 
tion to  their  time  and  labor  ;  yet  they  had  no  ground  of  com- 
plaint, being  paid  according  to  agreement. 

So  it  warned   the  Apostles,  that,  "though  they  were   first 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  221 

called  by  Christ,  they  might  be  last  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven," 
if  they  worked  for  Him  from  mereinary  motivées.  And  so,  also, 
tliat  those  brought  to  the  Kingdom  in  infancy,  if  they  are  not 
faithful  in  keeping  their  vows,  may  be  less  in  the  Heavenly 
Kingdom  than  those  called  later  in  life. 

The  eleventh  hour  laborers  are  not  dying  men,  but  idlers 
ready  to  go  and  work  as  soon  as  called  ;  idle  only,  because  un- 
called. There  were  none  called  at  the  twelfth  hour  ;  it  was  too 
late,  there  was  no  time  to  work.  And  there  is  no  hope  held  out 
to  such  a  repentance  in  the  Oid  Testament,  or  New  ;  there  must 
follow  "  a  doing  that  which  is  lawful  and  right,"  which  the  dy- 
ing have  no  time  to  do,  and  so  no  wages  to  receive. 

Finally  it  concludes  with  the  warning  for  all,  "  Many  are 
called  but  few  chosen  ;  "  all  are  called  who  hear  of  Christ  and 
His  Church  ;  all  are  chosen  Mdio  believe  in  Him,  and  are  admit- 
ted into  His  Church.  Those  who  have  not  the  Law  may  be  saved 
without  the  law,  by  the  law  written  on  the  heart. 


3-^^-€ 


CHAPTER   XXX, 


THE    FEAST    OF    DEDICATION. 


A.  T>.  29,  December.  This  Festival  was  instituted  by 
Judas  Maccabeus,  to  celebrate  the  cleansing  of  the  Temple,  six 
years  after  its  defilement  by  Antiochus  Epiplianes,  B.  C.  164. 
Like  all  the  great  Hebrew  Festivals,  it  lasted  until  the  octave  ; 
and  our  Lord's  presence  there  evinced  His  patriotism,  and 
sanction  of  the  seasons  designed  to  honor  tlie  Temple.  The 
Eastern  porch  of  the  Temple  was  called  Solomon's,  because  it 
was  built  of  a  part  of  the  materials  of  his  Temple.  The 
excitement  created  by  the  teaching  and  miracles  of  Christ,  the 
Apostles,  and  Seventy,  had  became  universal  throughout  Pales- 
tine; miiltitudes  followed  Him,  and  the  belief  that  He  was  the 
Christ  continually  increased.  And  it  may  well  be  supposed,  that 
His  appearance  at  this  Festival  was  anxiously  expected  by  the 
llulers  of  the  Jews,  and  h>oked  forward  to  by  Him,  with  deep 
interest, — because  He  knew  it  was  the  last  time  He  would  ever 
he  present  at  it;  as  it  was  only  about  four  months  to  the  last 
Passover,  when  His  earthly  mission  would  end. 

St.  eTohn  alone  mentions  this  visit,  and  his  details  are  few; 
saying  nothing  of  when  our  Lord  first  appeared  in  the  Temple, 
nor  how  often  He  was  there, — except  inferentially,  until  the  last 
day  of  the  festival,  when  He  taught  in  Solomon's  Porch;  and  told 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  223 

the  Killers  piainly  tliat  He  was  Christ,  and  they  accused  Him 
of  bhisplieiny  and  soui2;ht  to  stone  him.  Yet  the  discourse 
concerninjj^  the  Sheepfokl  and  the  Shepherd  was  probably  de- 
livered in  the  Temple  at  that  time,  and  as  a  public  declaration 
of  Himself  as  the  Christ. 

He  told  the  Apostles,  that  He  spake  to  the  Rulers  of  the 
Jews  in  Parables,  that  seeing  they  might  not  see;  and  the 
Psalmist  foretold  that  the  Messiah  would  open  His  mouth  in 
Parables,  and  utter  things  which  had  ])een  kept  secret  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  So  it  was  testimony  to  them  that  they 
might  see;  and  there  was  superhuman  wisdom  in  the  way  He  liegan 
His  discourse,  declaring  His  authority  in  a  way  that  the  Rulers 
could  not  but  perceive  His  meaning,  or  fail  to  arouse  their  indig- 
nation. Christ's  presence  and  teaching  proved  His  Lordship  of 
the  Temple  ;  there  He  stood  and  calmly  rebuked  those  powerful 
enemies  who  were  seeking  His  life,  l)ut  were  powerless  to  touch 
Him.  Beginning  with  His  solemn,  "  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,"  asserting  His  right  to  teach  the  Levitical  priesthood  and 
Rulers  of  the  Jews,  who  claimed  to  be  God's  only  authorized 
teachers, — and  calling  His  kingdom  a  sheep-fold,  and  Himself  the 
door  to  enter  it, — He  accused  them  as  thieves  and  robbers  who 
climbed  into  it  some  other  way.  But  His  sheep  know  His  voice 
and  follow  Him,  and  a  stranger  they  will  not  follow. 

This  comparison  of  His  Kingdom  to  a  shepherd,  and  His, 
disciples  to  sheep  following  their  shepherd,  were  two  usages 
familiar  to  the  people  of  Palestine,  when  Christ  was  on  earth; 
for  the  sheep-folds  were  built  of  stone,  in  the  open  country, 
with  one  low  door,  to  be  easily  defended  from  wild  beasts  and 
robbers,  and  the  sheep  followed  the  Shepherd. 

And  to  make  His  teaching  more  direct,  and  that  there 
should  be  no  misunderstanding  of  His  words.  He  asserted  with 
His  ''Verilv,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  I  am  the  door  of  the 
sheep;  all  who  came  before  Me,  are  thieves  and  robbers."     He 


224  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

is  Himself  the  door  to  enter  His  Kingdom,  not  only  for  sheep 
but  also  for  slieplierds  ;  if  any  e:\tcr  in  by  Ilini,  Jew  or  Gentile, 
tliey  sliail  go  in  and  out  and  iind  pasture, — tliat  is  security  of 
salvation,  and  the  peace  of  God  that  comes  from  citizenship  in 
His  Kingdom.  They  may  live  in  the  distractions  of  the  world, 
but  His  grace  will  enable  tlicm  to  walk  unharmed. 

By  thieves  and  robbers,  He  did  not  mean  the  prophets,  but 
the  false  Christ's — like  Judas  of  Galilee  and  The  udas  ;  while 
there  was  an  undertone  of  allusion  to  the  S{;ribes  and  Pharisees, 
who  had  made  the  Temple  a  den  of  thieves,  and  robbed  God  of 
tithes  and  offerings. 

Christ  came  down  from  Heaven,  as  the  Son  of  God,  and 
He  returned  to  it  as  the  Sou  of  Man,  taking  up  a  liuinan  nature; 
and  so,  opening  its  door  for  all  His  disciples.  The  Apostles  did 
not  then  understand  what  He  meant,  by  calling  Himself  the 
Door;  but  when  the  Holy  Ghost  came  He  made  them  under- 
stand, that  Christ  was  the  second  person  of  the  God-head  incar- 
nate. And  that,  through  the  sacraments  of  the  Church,  men  are 
regenerated  and  grafted  into  Him,  and  througli  the  elements  of 
bread  and  wine  are  made  partakers  of  His  body  and  blood; 
according  to  His  saying,  "  he  that  eatetli  My  body  and  drinketh 
My  blood  hath  eternal  life." 

Neither  the  Pharisees  nor  disciples  understood  the  Parable. 
He  resumed  His  teaching,  with  His  "  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,"  giving  them  a  fuller  declaration  of  the  same  truth,  under 
a  new  tigure  that  made  His  meaning  more  apparent.  First,  He 
represented  Himself  as  the  door  of  the  sheep-fold;  but  now  He 
is  the  Door  of  the  sheep,  by  which  they  enter  His  Kingdom. 
The  thief  comes  to  kill  and  destroy  souls;  false  teachers  seek 
their  own  glory,  and  plunder  the  flock.  He  had  come  to  give 
eternal  life  to  all  the  dead;  but  to  the  sheep,  more  abundantly, 
the  regenerate  spiritual  life  to  flt  them  for  the  Kingdom  iu 
Heaven. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  225 

As  He  goes  on,  the  parable  rises  into  liiglier  proplietieal 
revelations  concerning  His  Divine  origin,  and  eartlily  destiny. 
As  the  Good  Sheplierd,  He  has  come  to  give  His  life  for  tlie 
sheep  ;  hirelings — false  teachers — will  flee  in  danger,  and  the 
wolf — Satan — catcheth  the  sheep.  He  knows  His  sheep  by  His 
life  in  them,  and  the  mark  of  His  cross  on  them  ;  and  they  know 
Him  ])y  the  Feace  of  God  Avronght  in  them. 

And  as  the  Father  know^  Him,  even  so  He  knows  the 
Father;  which  was  saying,  We  are  One.  And  He  will  lay  down 
His  life  for  the  sheep,  and  take  it  again  ;  and  then  the  other 
sheep,  the  Gentile  world,  shall  be  gathered  in — and  there  shall 
be  one  fold,  and  one  Shepherd,  Christ  the  only  Head — and  in 
Him  prophecy  said,  the  Gentiles  should  trust.  How  this  pro- 
phecy looks  after  nineteen  centuries,  wifh  all  Christendom  built 
upon  the  foundation  of  the  Gentile  nations  ;  and  they,  sending 
men,  and  spending  millions  to  gatlier  in  the  outlying  Gentiles. 

He  said,  the  Father  loved  Him,  because  He  liad  come  to 
lay  down  His  life  for  the  sheep  ;  but  it  was  His  voluntary  act, 
"  I  have  power  to  lay  down  My  life,  and  power  to  take  it  again." 
"  This  commandment  I  Iwve  received  of  My  Father."  This 
discourse  produced  great  reasoning  among  the  Jews  ;  some  said, 
"  He  hath  a  devil  ;  "  and  others  defended  Him,  saying,  "  Can  a 
devil  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind  ?  "  The  devil  blinds  men  ;  and 
the  question  was  undeniable,  that  the  devil  never  is  the  bene- 
factor of  any. 

When  Christ  finished  His  discourse  in  the  Temple,  amid 
the  Tlulers  and  a  vast  concourse  of  people,  some  one  approached 
Him,  and  earnestly  asked,  "  How  long  dost  Tliou  make  us  to 
doubt  ?  If  Thou  be  Christ,  tell  lis  plainly." 

He  had  told  them  many  times,  and  in  many  ways,  and 
that  day  He  declared  Himself  in  the  Temple  as  the  Door  to  tlie 
Kino;do:u  of  God,  and  the  Good  Shepherd  who  had  come  down 
from    Heaven,    and    was   there  faliilling   the  Prophecj'   of  the 

13 


226  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Psalmist,  concerniniç  Christ,  wlio  foretold  Ilini  as  the  Good 
Shepherd  ;  and  so  lie  said  to  tlieiu,  "  I  told  you,  and  ye  believe 
not  ;  the  works  I  do  in  My  Fatlicr's  name,  they  bear  witness  of 
Me." 

Christ  had  prepared  the  way  for  tlie  Jews  to  put  tlie  ques- 
tion, then  and  there,  in  the  Temple  of  God,  and  before  the 
people,  that  He  might  give  tliat  answer;  and  also  make  the 
most  distinct  declaration  of  His  divine  nature  that  He  had  ever 
made, — as  if  to  leave  tliem  without  excuse.  First  telling  them 
tliey  would  neither  hear  nor  believe,  because  they  were  not  His 
sheep  ;  He  said,  those  who  believe,  "  My  Father  giveth  Me, 
and  none  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  My  Father's  hands.  I 
and  my  Father  are  One."  Though  they  did  not  know,  that  His 
words  were  a  full  revelation  of  His  Sonship  in  the  glorious  God- 
head, and  a  claiming  the  fulfillment  of  Isaiah's  prophecy,  that  He 
was  "  Immanuel,  God  with  us,"  they  called  it  blasj)hemy  and 
took  up  stones  to  stone  Him.  And  what  a  natural  scene  fol- 
lowed, proving  to  them  that  His  words  were  true  ;  standing 
there  calm  and  undismayed  in  that  surging  and  excited  throng 
of  enemies,  He  declared  that  He  had  shown  them  many  good 
works  from  His  Father;  and  asked,  "  For  which  of  these  do  ye 
stone  Me?"  He  had  drawn  from  them  the  confession,  "Thou 
makest  Thyself  God  ;  "  and  He  proved  His  words  true,  by 
showing  that  they  had  no  power  to  injure  Him,  because  His 
claim  was  true,  while  they  wished  to  stone  Him  for  blasphemy. 

In  this  defence,  our  Lord  answered  His  accusers  in  the 
way  their  wickedness  deserved  ;  and  that  helped  to  confirm 
their  blindness.  He  quoted  from  the  Eighty-second  Psalm, 
where  men  are  ca'led  "  the  children  of  the  Most  High,"  and  so 
it  was  no  blasphemy  to  call  Himself  the  Son  of  God  ;  because 
He  was  sanctified  and  sent  into  the  world  by  the  Father,  thus 
asserting.  Ills  Messiaship.  And  as  Closes'  miracles,  to  con- 
vince Pharoah  that  God  had  sent  him  to  deliver   the  Egypti  ins, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  227 

hnrdened  his  heart, — so  ulso  did  our  Lord's  words  and  miracles,  to 
convince  the  Rulers  that  He  was  the  Ciirist,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,  harden  their  hearts. 

Tliey  took  up  stones  to  cast  at  Him,  but  could  not;  He  was 
defenceless,  but  they  could  not  touch  Him.  The  Romans  had 
deprived  the  Jews  of  the  right  to  execute  criminals  ;  but  the 
mob  miglit  kill  by  stoning,  without  any  trial,  as  was  St.  Stephen. 
So  Christ's  escape  was  a  manifestation  to  the  Jews,  of  His  Divine 
power  ;  and  of  their  inability  to  take  Him. 

This  lesson  was  for  all  time,  because  Christ  knew  that  men 
would  continue  to  reject  Him,  as  the  Jews  did  ;  because  they 
could  not  understand,  or  believe  how  it  is^  that — Ijeing  man,  He 
could  be  God, — or  because  His  revelation  of  Himself  did  not 
convince  their  minds  of  His  Divinity. 

For  three  years  they  had  watched  Him.  He  had  challenged 
them  to  accuse  Him  of  sin,  untruth,  or  unrighteousness  ;  and  no 
one  had  done  it.  He  had  shown  tliem  that  all  the  Messianic 
Prophecies  were  f  uliilled  in  Him;  and  plainly  declaring  Himself 
one  with  God  the  Father,  and  proving  it  by  their  inability  to 
injure  Him,  He  departed  from  the  Temple,  never  to  appear 
there  again,  until  He  wont  up  to  present  Himself  as  the  Lamb  of 
God, — ready  to  be  sacrificed  to  take  away  the  sins  of  the  world, 
to  give  His  last  awful  warning  to  the  Jews,  to  declare  their 
doom  sealed,  and  the  Temple  desolate;  because  Salvation  would 
no  longer  be  attainable  by  its  sacrifice,  after  His  one  great  sac- 
rifice had  been  offered.  The  going  away  from  Jerusalem  was 
according  to  tlie command  He  gave  tlie  Apostles;  when  they 
persecute  you  in  one  city,  flee  ye  to  another. 


CHAPTER   XXXL 


IN   PEREA. 


Christ  and  the  disciples  went  from  Jerusalem,  to  avoid  tlie 
wrath  of  the  Rulers  of  the  Jews,  into  the  solitude  of  tlie  wilder- 
ness of  Bethabara,  beyond  Jordan,  where  John  baptized  and 
proclaimed  Him  the  Lamb  of  God,  and  the  Father  acknowl- 
edged Him  as  His  Son  ;  doubtless  also  to  rest  and  gatlier 
courage  and  strength  for  the  Baptism  of  Blood,  He  knew  He 
was  soon  to  be  baptized  with,  and  many  followed  and  believed 
in  Him  there. 

But  there  was  no  place  that  He  retired  to,  that  the 
inimical  Pharisees  did  not  find  out  and  pursue  Him  plotting  to 
entrap,  or  tempt  Him  to  say  something,  for  which  tliey  could 
have  Him  arrested  and  brouglit  before  the  Rulers.  The  transi- 
tion which  began  with  John's  mission  created  intense  religious 
excitement,  not  only  as  to  Christ's  Messialisliip,  but  also  as  to  wliat 
was  to  be  the  result  of  the  doctrines  and  changes  in  religious 
Avorship  thnt  He  announced;  and  the  Pharisees  watched  mainly 
to  disprove  Christ's  claim  to  the  Messiahship  ;  because  the  con- 
test between  the  old  faith  and  worship,  or  the  visiblencss  of  His 
Kingdom,  was  not  apparent  until  after  His  resurrection  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  came. 

How  long  Christ  remained  in  Perea,  or  of  His  sayings  and 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  229 

doing's  there,  but  little  is  recorded  ;  but  the  people  testified,  that 
all  John  said  respecting  Him  was  true.  And  the  admission  that 
John  wrought  no  miracles  showed  Christ's  superiority,  and  also 
that  He  did  there  some  works. 

The  Pharisees  watched  Christ  there  seeking  accusations, 
but  as  usual  finding  instruction;  for  He  was  becoming  daily- 
more  bold  in  His  teaching,  and  leaving  them  without  excuse 
for  misunderstanding  or  disbelieving  in  Him.  And  as  He  told 
them  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  was  soon  to  appear,  they  asked 
when  it  would  come  ?  And  He  said,  "  The  kingdom  of  God 
cometh  not  with  observation." 

They  meant  Messiah's  Kingdom,  which  they  supposed  He 
falsely  announced,  as  they  saw  no  signs  of  it  ;  yet  His  words 
implied  that  it  was  already  in  process  of  formation,  but  not 
coming  in  a  way  to  be  perceived  with  such  observation  and 
unbelief  as  tlieirs.  He  had  before  told  them,  it  would  grow  like 
a  mustard  seed,  and  develop  invisibly  like  leaven  :  "Neither 
shall  they  say,  Lo,  here  !  or  lo,  tliere  !  For  behold  the  Kingdom 
of  God  is  within  you." 

Our  Lord  here  used  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  a  synonym  for 
regeneration,  or  a  figure  for  the  effect  produced  by  being  made 
a  citizen  of  His  Kingdom  ;  because  tliereby  His  spiritual  life, 
as  Head  of  the  Kingdom,  is  engrafted  on  us.  He  had  before 
taught  a  Chief  Ruler,  Nicoderaus,  that  without  regeneration,  by 
w^ater  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  lie  could  neither  see  nor  enter  tlie 
Kingdom  ;  as  long  as  any  remain  in  unbelief  it  is  now,  as  it  was 
then,  an  inexplicable  mystery. 

If  He  had  answered  tlie  question  concerning  the  kingdom, 
so  that  the  Pharisees  could  understand  His  full  meaning,  they 
would  immediately  have  caused  His  arrest  and  crucifixion  ;  and 
even  the  explanation  to  the  Disciples  was  not  understood  by  tliem 
until  after  His  resurrection. 

Isot  long  after  this,  Christ  delivered  to  His  Disciples  an- 


230  LIFEOFCHRIST. 

Other  of  those  discourses  concerning  Himself,  and  the  past  and 
future  history  of  this  world  ;  which  proves  how  clearly  He  fore- 
knew all  that  was  before  Ilini,  and  that  all  things  would  go  on 
as  they  had  done  to  the  world's  end. 

He  told  them  He  was  going  away  from  them,  and  the  days 
would  come,  when  they  would  long  for  such  a  day  as  they  had 
enjoyed  with  Him  as  the  Son  of  Man,  "  and  ye  shall  not  see  it;" 
Imt  He  would  come  again.  And  meanwhile  He  forewarned 
tlieni  that  false  Christs  would  appear,  but  to  give  no  heed  to 
them  ;  because  at  His  next  coming  His  glory  would  fill  the 
heavens,  as  lightening  which  shines  from  one  end  to  the  other. 
But  before  that  He  must  suffer  many  things,  and  be  rejected  by 
the  Jews. 

Then  follows  a  double  prophecy,  of  the  destruction  of  the 
old  Kingdom  of  Israel,  and  of  the  world.  The  first  would  l)e  a 
type  of  the  last;  as  it  wns  in  tlie  days  of  Noah  and  Lot — when 
men  were  engrossed  in  the  business  and  pleasures  of  life,  and  al- 
most universal  corruption  reigned, — suddenly  water  and  fire 
from  God  destroyed  the  old  world  and  cities  of  the  plain — so 
would  come  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  Temple,  and 
the  Daily  Sacrifice,  and  the  end  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  disper- 
sion of  the  Jews  among  the  nations.  Then  the  Son  of  Man 
will  be  revealed,  and  His  prophecies  be  fulfilled,  and  the  end 
of  that  Dispensation,  proving  that  tlie  Son  of  Man  is  the  Son 
of  God.  And  this  was,  and  is,  a  t^'pe  of  the  state  of  society 
Avhich  will  exist  at  the  end  of  the  world  ;  and  of  the  suddenness, 
and  awful  destruction,  which  will  follow  the  appearing  of  the 
Son  of  Man,  in  the  glory  of  God  the  Father.  In  the  av,-ful 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  as  it  will  be  in  the  end  of  tlie  woj-ld, 
tiiere  will  be  no  time  to  go  down  from  the  house-top  to  look 
after  one's  goods,  nor  to  turn  back  from  the  field  to  secure  them. 

To  remember  Lot's  wife,  had  become  a  proverb;  and  Christ 
used  it  to  illustrate  this  saying  of  His,  "  No  man  having  put  his 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  231 

hand  to  tlie  plouj^li,  and  looking  back,  is  fit  for  the  Kingdom  of 
God  ;  "  entering  His  service  we  must  be  patient  and  enduring, 
under  wliatcver  persecutions  and  trials  await  us.  The  laborers 
in  the  field,  and  grinders  at  the  mill,  represent  the  only  two  class- 
es into  which  mankind  will  be  divided,  when  Christ  comes  to 
judgment — one,  the  righteous  will  be  taken  ;  tlie  other,  the 
unrighteous  will  be  left — and  the  fire  and  brimstone  of  Sodom 
foreshadows  their  doom,  whatever  that  may  be  in  tlie  life  and 
world  to  come. 

The  disciples  were  puzzled  by  Christ's  words,  and  asked, 
"AYliere  Lord  [when  or  where],  shall  these  things  be?"  His 
answer  must  have  more  perplexed  them  :  "  Wheresoever  the  body 
is,  thither  will  the  eagles  be  gathered  together;"  luit  it  foretold 
His  coming  to  judgment  on  Jerusalem,  ami  would  liave  forever 
remained  an  enigma,  but  for  the  explanation  He  made  when  He 
repeated  the  prophecy  on  the  Mount  of  Olives.  The  destruction 
of  the  world  by  deluge,  and  of  Sodom  by  fire  and  brimstone, 
were  types  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  ;  and  these  presaged 
the  more  terrible  scenes  of  the  world's  cjonflagration,  when  He 
comes  a  second  time,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  to  judge  it. 

Then  He  spake  the  Parable  of  the  Unjust  Judge.  His  char- 
acter is  delineated  with  Divine  brevity, — he  neither  feared  God, 
iror  regarded  man, — which  was  worse  than  the  devils;  for  they 
fear  God,  and  tremble.  He  was  unjust  and  reckless.  It  presents 
him  in  strong  contrast  with  God's  mercy  and  compassion  ;  and 
teaches  that  He  always  hears  and  answers  prayers,  though  often 
He  ma}^  seem  to  disregard  them, — because  of  lack  of  faith,  or  im- 
portunity in  asking. 

Here,  a  widow  is  the  suppliant;  because  she  is  a  type  of 
desolation  and  helplessness,  and  so  most  likely  to  move  the  pity 
of  the  liard-hearted  judge  to  redress  her  wrongs.  But  she 
came,  time  and  again,  and  he  would  do  nothing  for  her  ;  until, 
at  last,  her  persistency  nuide  him  grant  her  petition. 


232  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

This  lesson  was  especially  given  to  His  disciples, — Ihey 
must  be  importunate  like  the  widow,  watching  and  praying  while 
suffering  persecution,  until  God  sends  them  relief.  They  saw 
that  tlie  hatred  of  the  Pharisees  was  incessant  and  increasing; 
and  Christ  knew  they  wondered  why  He  did  not  use  tlie  power 
they  knew  He  had,  to  destroy  them.  By  this  example  of  the 
importunate  woman,  Christ  taught  that  an  answer  to  prayer  de- 
pends on  our  perseverance;  and  delays  increase  patience  and 
submission,  as  well  as  faith.  These  form  in  ns  a  disposition  like 
Christ's;  and  when  tliis  is  accompliehed,  then  the  prayer  will  be 
answered, — not  always  as  we  expect,  but  in  the  way  God  knows 
will  1)0  best  for  us. 

And  beneath  all  this  personal  instruction,  there  was  also  an- 
other lesson  respecting  His  Kingdom  which  His  enemies  were 
watching  and  plotting  to  hinder  its  coming;  though  now,  God 
seems  not  to  regard  their  hatred  and  importunity.  He,  also, 
would  speedily  be  avenged.  And  He  concluded  with  tlie  ques- 
tion, "When  the  Son  of  Man  cometh,  shall  He  find  failh  0:1 
the  Earth?"  Either  when  He  cometh  to  judge  Jerusalem,  or 
the  world,  will  He  find  faith  on  Earth.  This  question  He  bad 
answered, — as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noali  and  Lot,  so  will  it  bo 
then.     Then  followed  the  Parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  Publican. 

Our  world's  literatuie  has  no  more  beautiful  gems  than  our 
Lord's  Parables  ;  they  are  charming  stories,  teeming  with  in- 
struction, on  the  profoundest  mysteries  of  our  present  and  future 
life,  which  none  but  God  could  reveal. 

This  Parable  may  describe  an  actual  scene,  witnessed  by 
Christ  in  the  Temple;  and,  whether  it  was  spoken  for  the 
Pharisees,  or  His  disciples,  it  was  a  lesson  for  all  mankind  on 
the  duties  of  humility  and  charity,  which  He  gave  the  world 
the  oidy  perfect  example  it  has  ever  had, — the  Pharisees  con- 
du(;t  being  in  the  extreme  contrast  to  His,  and  to  the  temper  and 
spirit  of  His  religion. 


LIFE     OF    CHRIST.  233 

These  two  men  went  to  the  Temple,  at  the  same  time,  and 
for  the  same  purpose,  to  pray  and  worship  God  ;  but  tlie  one  was 
self-righteous,  and  the  other  righteous  in  God's  sight,  Tiie  Fliari- 
see- was  in  high  esteem  witli  the  Rulers  of  his  nation,  the  Pub- 
lican was  despised  by  them  ;  one  went  to  the  inner  court,  near 
the  altar  ;  the  other  stood  in  the  outer  court  among  sinners,  and 
their  prayers  differed  with  their  characters. 

The  Pharisee  stood  and  prayed  with  himself,  his  address 
was  to  thank  God  ;  but  it  was  not  for  what  God  had  done  for 
him,  but  for  what  he  had  made  himself; — no  extortioner,  nor  un- 
just, nor  adulterer,  a  faster  twice  a  week,  and  payer  of  tithes. 
All  this,  was  only  what  the  Law  required;  not  satisiied  with  this 
self-gloryfying,  he  exalted  himself  by  a  disparaging  comparison 
with  other  men,  and  scorn  of  the  humble  Publican  in  the  outer 
court.  He  confessed  no  sins,  asked  for  no  mercy,  and  he  lacked 
humility  and  charity;  and  his  pride  and  self-righteousness  were 
as  great  sins  in  God's  sight,  as  those  he  boasted  of  exemption 
from. 

How  different  the  conduct  and  prayer  of  the  Publican  !  As 
a  Jew  he  was  entith  d  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  Temple,  but 
his  humility  led  him  to  stand  in  the  outer^  com-t  ;  and  his 
thoughts  were  not  on  his  righteousness,  nor  the  sins  of  others, 
but  on  his  own  sins;  and  with  down-cast  eyes,  and  deep  humility, 
beating  his  breast,  he  begged  mercy  from  God. 

And  He  who  is  to  be  the  world's  judge,  the  Son  of  Man, 
said,  "I  tell  you  this  man  went  down  to  his  house  justified  rather 
than  the  other  ;  "  justified  in  God's  sight,  and  so  pardoned  for 
Christ's  sake.  And  the  Paral)le  concludes  with  the  warning  so 
often  repeated  by  our  Lord,  "That  he  who  exalteth  himself  shall 
be  abased,  and  he  who  huml)loth  himself  shall  be  exalted  ;"  pride 
is  sure  to  bring  humbling  from  God.  Notliing  but  humility  and 
repentance,  a  broken  and  contrite  heart  makes  us  acce])table  to 
God,   through  Christ;    and    all   comparison    of  ouiselves  with 


234  LIFE    OF    CHIIIST. 

■>tliers  is  forbidden,  except  to  ex;ilt  tlieni  and  depress  ourselves, 
St.  Luke  sums  up  his  narrative  of  tliis  visit  of  Christ  to 
Pcrea,  with  the  brief  comment, — that  many  i-esortcd  to  Him. 
and  believed  on  Him  there.  Tims  it  appears  that  His  Di*c;- 
ples  were  continually,  silently  increasing,  without  attracting  ob- 
servation ;  and  He  was  preparing  the  foundations  for  the  re- 
stored Kingdom  of  GoJ,  whicii  was  soon  to  be  made  visible. 
For,  in  fact,  the  Ciu'istian  Chun;h  is  but  the  development  ar.d 
completion  of  the  Church  into  M'hich  Christ  was  admitted  in  in- 
fancy, and  by  Him  was  made  more  spiritual,  by  changing  its 
ceremonial  and  s-  criticial  worship  into  the  Sacramental  and 
Spiritual  worship  of  His  Kmgdom;  and  by  His  own  act  in  trans- 
ferring the  Levitical  to  the  Christian  priesthood,  and  preparing 
for  the  new  order  of  religious  worship  He  was  introducing. 


^^~<  o  i     •         4> 


CHAPTER  XXXIL 


GOING  INTO  JUDEA. 


Cliri&t  and  the  disciples  went  from  Perea  towards  the  Jor- 
dan, crossing  it  near  Jericlio;  and  the  Apostles  were  troubled, 
because  they  sup|*)sed  He  was  going  to  Jerusalem,  as  they  knew 
the  wrath  of  the  Rulers,  and  that  they  had  resolved  to  kill  Him. 
And  they  were  afraid, — they  feared  that  they,  too,  would  be 
murdered  ;  because  they  were  His  disciples,  and  had  taught  and 
wrought  miracles  by  H.s  authority.  Though  Christ  did  not  in- 
tend to  visit  Jerusalem  until  the  Passover — when  He  would  de- 
liver Himself  to  the  liulers,  and  finish  His  earthly  mission — yet 
this  incident  remarkably  confirms  the  truth  of  tlie  wdiole  narra- 
tive. 

Christ  took  the  Apostles  aside,  and  told  them  privately, 
"  The  Son  of  Man  shall  be  delivered  unt®  the  Chief  Priests,  and 
unto  the  Scribes;  and  tliey  shall  condemn  Him  to  death,  and 
deliver  Him  to  the  Gentiles."  And  this  is  anotlier  proof  of  His 
foreknowledge,  that,  though  the  Jews  would  condemn  Him  for 
blasphemy.  He  would  not  be  stoned  according  to  their  Law,  but 
they  would  deliver  Him  to  the  Gentiles  to  be  scourged  and  cru- 
cified; and  tlie  third  day  He  would  rise  again, — that  beino-  es- 
sential to  fulfill  tlie  prophecy,  "Not  a  bone  of  Him  shall  be 
broken.""     And  the  con([ucst  of  Palestine  by  the  Romans,  was 


236  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

one  of  the  preparations  for  tlie  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God, 
and  for  the  fulfillment  of  that  prophecy. 

Je?us  went  before,  the  people  following  Ilim,  as  the  Good 
Shepherd.  And  there  was  no  longer  need  to  conceal  from  them 
His  approaching  death,  which  would  be  the  final  act  for  intro- 
ducing His  kingdom.  The  Passover — on  which  He  was  to  be 
crucified — was  near;  and  His  words  and  deeds  were  not  onl)^  to 
convince  His  Apostles,  but  all  future  generations,  that  Ho  knew 
all  that  was  before  Him,  and  that  all  the  events  leading  to  His 
death  were  controlled  liy  Him  ;  and  that  He  had  power  over  His 
life,  to  lay  it  down  and  take  it  again,  and  man  could  not  take  it 
until  He  was  ready  to  offer  it. 

And  it  was  proof  to  the  Disciples  and  Jews,  as  it  has  ever 
since  been  to  the  world,  that  He  is  the  Christ  ;  Elijah  and  Paul 
raised  the  dead,  but  no  other  man  but  Jesus  Christ  ever  raised 
himself  from  the  dead.  The  Apostles  understood  that  He  would 
soon  go  to  deliver  Himself  to  the  Jews;  and  then  occn red  an- 
other incidental  insight  into  onr  common  humanity,  which  con- 
firms the  reality  of  the  characters  of  the  men,  and  the  truth  of 
the  narrative.  If  He  were  about  to  leave,  and  His  Kingdom  to 
come,  then  there  must  be  Chief-Rulers  for  it  ;  and  not  Peter,  but 
James  and  John  ask,  that  they  may  sit  on  His  right  and  left 
hand  in  His  glory, — referring  to  His  recent  promise,  that  the 
Apostles  should  sit  on  twelve  thrones  in  His  Kingdom. 

But  Christ  answered  them,  saying  ;  "  Ye  know  not  what  ye 
ask  ;  "  they  had  witnessed  His  glory  at  His  transfiguration  on 
the  Mount  ;  but  tliey  did  not  know  what  His  Kingdom,  or  His 
glor}»^, meant  then.  And  He  asked  them,  if  they  could  "drink  of 
His  cup,  and  be  baptized  with  His  ba]itism  ?  "  Snrely  not  un- 
derstanding Him,  they  said,  "  We  are  able."  And  Christ  fore- 
told their  martyrdom,  "  Ye  shall  indeed  drink  of  My  cup  and 
be  baptized  with  My  baptism;"  and  they  were.  James  was  the 
first,  who   sniferect  for  Christ;  and  so  was,  in  one  sense,  on  His 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  227 

riglit  hand  ;  and  John  was  tlie  last  Apostle,  and  so  was  on  the  left. 

Bat  the  request  looked  foward  to  Christ's  Kingdom  in 
Heaven,  in  glory,  as  they  called  it;  and  He  said,  "that  is  not 
Mine  to  give,"  not  now;  or  else  it  is  reserved  by  tlie  Father,  and 
we  sliall  never  know  the  full  import  of  His  words,  until  Christ 
comes  again  in  His  glory  to  take  His  Church  on  earth  and  in 
Paradise,  to  annex  them  to  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  glory  of 
the  Father  in  Heaven. 

When  the  other  Apostles  heard  of  the  request,  they  were 
indignant;  not  probably  at  the  ambition  of  the  two  so  much,  but 
at  their  device  to  get  the  best  places  in  the  Kingdom.  And  He 
used  the  incident,  to  give  them  a  lesson  on  the  duties  of  humility 
and  self-denial  ;  and  pointed  them  to  His  ow^n  example,  "  The 
Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister  and 
give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many  ;  "  and  they  must  follow  Him. 
And  He  said,  it  sliall  not  be  with  you  as  among  the  Gentiles, 
where  Rulers  exercise  their  authority  with  pride  and  arrogance  ; 
but  they  must  be  as  servants.  Which  shows  how  vastly  superior 
His  principles  were  to  all  other  men's,  and  to  what  this  world's 
subjects  long  and  strive  for, — therefore  He  was  superhuman; 
because  His  was  the  greatness  of  God,  and  reversed  all  the  ways 
of  man  and  of  this  world. 

And  they  came  to  Jericho,  followed  by  a  multitude,  and  re- 
mained some  days  there  ;  but  as  they  resumed  their  journey,  go- 
ing out  of  the  village,  a  blind-man,  named  Bartimeus,  sat  by  the 
w^ay-side  begging.  St.  Matthew  says  there  were  two  l)lind-raen; 
and  St.  Mark  called  one  of  them  by  name,  whom  he  probably 
knew, — and  he  cried  out,  when  he  heard  Christ  was  passing  by, 
"  Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  me." 

This  was  a  profession  of  faith  in  Him  as  the  Messiah  ;  but 
the  people  told  him  to  hold  his  peace.  But  he  cried  out  the  more, 
"  Thou,  Son  of  David  have  mercy  on  me."  And  Jesus  stood 
still,  and  commanded  him  to  be  brought;    and  the  people  told 


238  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

liiin  to  be  of  good  comfort,  for  He  culletli  tlice.  ^Vlicn  lie  oanie 
Christ  asked  liiin,  "  AVlmt  wilt  thou  tli.-it  I  should  do  unto  tliee  ?' 
and  he  said,  "  Lord,  that  I  might  receive  my  sight?  "  And  lie 
said  to  liim,  "  Go  thy  way,  tliy  faith  liath  made  thee  whole;  ''  and 
iimncdiatcly  he  received  iiis  siglit,  and  followed  Christ. 

And  it  is  trne  now,  that  nothing  else  so  enlightens  the 
mind,  and  enlarges  spiritnal  vision,  and  the  knowledge  and  love  of 
God,  as  faith  in  Christ, — as  the  incarnate  Son  of  God,  the  Son  of 
Man  crucified  for  our  sins,  resurrected  for  onr  justification,  glor- 
ified in  Heaven,  as  the  assurance  tliat  He  has  opened  the  way 
tliere  for  all  believers  ;  and  so  we  can  believe,  that  it  Avas  for 
that  man's  faith,  Christ  restored  his  sight.  And  there  is  no 
earthly  romance  so  captivating  as  this  heavenly  truth  ;  nothing 
which  inspires  such  love  and  trust  in  Christ,  as  God,  and  so 
raises  the  mind  above  the  pride,  and  pomp,  the  amljition  and 
charms  of  this  world. 

Christ's  popularity  had  now  so  increased,  that  the  multi- 
tude following  Him,  was  more  like  the  ti'iumphal  procession 
honoring  a  king,  or  conqueror,  returning  from  some  successful 
wai-,  than  tliat  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  on  His  way  to  Jerusalem  to 
l>e  condemned  and  crucified  by  His  enemies.  He  Avas  now  at 
some  point  between  Jericho  and  Bethany,  where  He  tarried  with 
His  Disciples  ;  knowing  what  was  soon  to  happen,  and  give  rise 
to  the  mightest  miracle  ever  wrought  by  any  prophet,  or  by 
.Himself  to  that  time,  and  v/hich  He  knew  would  l)e  the  menus 
of  hastening  His  death. 

They  had  not  gone  far  from  Jericho,  when  a  rich  publican, 
namc<l  Z:icchcus,  liearing  that  the  procession  was  coming  near 
his  house,  and  anxious  to  see  Christ,  climbed  into  a  sycamore 
tree  on  the  road-side;  because  he  was  of  small  stature,  and  the 
multitude  thronged  around  Cln-ist. 

What  a  lively  picture  this  presents  of  that  scene;  how  nat- 
ural and  prol>able  the  incident.     And  when  Christ  saw  him,  Ho 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  239 

called  liim,  and  said  He  would  dine  with  him  that  day.  It  Avas 
doubtless  joyful  news  to  him  ;  in  his  Imniility,  lie  desired  only 
to  look  on  the  wonderful  Man  whom  he  was  ready  to  believe  in 
and  love.  Christ  knew  his  mind  ;  he  was  a  good  publican,  rich, 
but  made  his  money  honestly.  He  was  not  afraid  of  Cln'ist's 
scrutiny  of  His  conduct  and  conscience.  But,  when  On-ist's 
enemies  saw  that  He  was  going  to  be  Zaccheus'  guest,  they  all 
murmured  at  Him. 

They  murnnired,  because  He  had  gone  to  be  the  guest  of 
a  Publican,  whom  they  said  was  a  sinner  ;  if  he  had  been  a  sin- 
ner, lie  was  then  in  a  state  of  mind  tliat  attracted  our  Lord's  at- 
tention, and  was  such  a  one  as  He  had  come  to  save.  He  did 
not  tell  him  to  sell  all  he  had  ;  he  was  ready  to  give  half  of  his 
goods  to  the  poor,  and  restore  four-fold,  if  he  had  taken  anything 
by  false  accusation.  This  was  the  severest  penalty  imposed  by 
the  Law  ;  and  as  our  Lord  saw  he  was  a  true  Israelite,  He  said  to 
him,  "This  day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house,  forasmuch  as  he 
also  is  a  son  of  Abraham,"  he  believed  in  Him  as  the  Christ. 
Not  asserting  that  Zaccheus  belonged  at  first  to  the  lost,  He  only 
justified  Himself  for  going  among  Publicans  and  sinners  ;  for 
those.  He  had  come  to  save. 

And  it  is  these  little  notices  of  those  common  impulses  of  our 
human  nature,  and  common  humanity,  so  universal  now — like 
those  mentioned  respecting  Zaccheus — which  show  that  the  Evan- 
gelist described  a  real  '  scene,  and  assure  us  of  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel  ;  for  it  does  not  lie  within  the  power  of  any  human  mind, 
to  depict  scenes  like  these  with  such  details  and  fitness,  and 
descriptions  of  a  time  in  which  they  did  not  live.  There  is  an  in- 
finite distance  between  this  and  any  fiction  ever  written. 

The  next  glimpse  of  Christ,  after  leaving  Zaccheus'  house, 
shows  Him  not  far  from  Jerusalem  ;  and  at  some  pause  on  the 
journey.  He  spake  the  parable  of  the  nobleman  who  went  into  a 
far  country  ;  because  His  disciples  supposed  He  was  going   to 


240  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Jernsîilcm  to  iniinediately  proclaim  Ilis  Kingdora.  And  it  was 
reasonable  they  should  so  expect,  because  He  had  recently  said 
so  much  concerning  His  Kingdom's  coming  ;  and  they  were 
anxious  for  it,  because  they  expected  to  share  in  its  honor  and 
power,  and  occupy  the  twelve  thrones  He  had  promit^ed  them. 
And  He  spake  the  Parable,  to  remove  their  false  ideas. 

The  Parable  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Talents  ;  only  tliat  was 
general,  and  this  was  particular  for  the  Apostles,  and  adapted  to 
the  circumstances  under  which  it  w^as  spoken, — to  repress  their 
impatience  respecting  His  Kingdom's  coming,  and  to  teach  them 
that  they  must  wait  His  time,  and  work  faithfully  during  His 
absence,  and  render  an  account  of  their  stewardship  to  Him, 
M'hen  He  returned;  while  it  also  Avarned  His  enemies  of  the 
penalty  awaiting  them,  for  rejecting  Him. 

The  nobleman  is  Christ, — noble  by  His  earthly  descent  from 
Abraham  ;  royal,  by  David's  line  ;  and  king  of  kings,  as  the  Son  of 
God  come  into  the  far  country  of  this  woi'ld  to  receive  a  king- 
dom, and  inaugurate  it  by  His  death  and  resurrection,  and  then 
to  return  and  receive  it,  and  reckon  wùth  the  Rulers  to  whom 
He  entrusted  it. 

The  ten  servants  represent  the  number  usually  attendant 
on  noblemen;  and  so,  Christ's  ministers.  They  have  their  sev- 
eral trusts,  and  were  to  occupy  His  Kingdom  themselves,  and  by 
their  successors,  until  He  returns.  But  the  citizens,  a  cautious 
representation  of  His  enemies  who  were  seeking  His  life,  as 
well  as  all  wdio  would  reject  Him,  He  will  have  slain  before 
Him. 

Thus  the  reckoning  was  transferred  to  the  end  of  the  world, 
and  to  His  second  coming  to  judge  it;  and  this  showed  the 
Apostles  their  erroneous  expectations  respecting  the  real  nature 
of  His  Kingdom.  The  rewards  are  regal — authority  over  cities, 
and  proportioned  to  their  fidelity;  and  he  who  hid  his  one 
pound,  will  have  it  taken  from  him  and  given  to  him  who  had 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  241 

nsed  liis  ten  pounds  fnitlifuUy.  He  gave  ns  a  reason  for  not 
using  his  pound,  tliat  lie  knew  liis  Lord  was  a  liard  Master» 
wliicli  was  a  reason  wliy  lie  should  have  done  his  best  with  it 
— and  so  the  king  condenmed  him,  out  of  his  own  mouth,  as  a 
wicked  servant. 

Christ  remained  at  the  phace  wliere  He  spake  the  Parable 
of  the  nobleman's  going  to  receive  a  Kingdom,  until  a  messenger 
brought  Him  word  of  Lazarus'  sickness  ;  nothing  is  said  of  his 
sickness,  nor  how  long  it  had  been.  He  kncM^  what  would  fol- 
low from  Lazarus'  death,  and  said  it  Avould  be  for  "  the  glory  of 
God,  and  that  the  Son  of  God  might  be  glorified  thereby;"  and 
He  and  the  Disciples  crossed  the  Jordan. 

Two  days  after,  hearing  of  Lazai-us'  sickness,  Christ  said  to 
His  Disciples,  "  Let  us  go  again  into  Judea?  "  And  they  remon- 
strated again,  because  "  the  Jews  of  late  sought  to  stone  Thee."  He 
had  waited,  that  Lazarus  might  be  three  days  dead  .before  He 
awoke  him  ;  and  so  be  a  type  of  His  own  three  days  in  the  tomb. 
And  He  said,  in  answer  to  their  objection  to  His  going  into  Ju- 
dea, "tliere  are  twelve  hours  in  a  day,  in  which  a  man  walking 
■doth  not  stumble."  The  light  was  a  mysterion*  reference  to  Him- 
self as  the  light  of  the  MM:)rld,  and  tlie  day  to  the  time  of  His 
being  on  earth.  There  was  no  danger  for  His  personal  safety; 
the  stumbling  in  the  night,  would  be  in  the  darkness  to  follow 
His  disappearing  from  the  world. 

Then  He  said,  "Our  friend  Lazarus  sleepetli;  but  I  go  to 
awake  him  out  of  sleep."  The  Apostles  probably  thought  that 
sleep  was  a  favorable  symptom;  but  Christ  told  them  plainly, 
"  Lazarus  is  dead."  And  He  was  glad  for  their  sakes  that  He 
was  not  there,  but  He  was  going  to  awake  him  ;  thus  Ho  began 
to  reveal  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  all  mankind.  And 
ever  after,  sleep  was  a  symbol  of  death  with  the  Apostles  ;  they 
called  it  "  sleeping  in  Jesus,"  and  burial  grounds  were  ceme- 
teries, or  sleeping  places. 

16 


242  LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  i 

When  Christ  said  to  the  Apostles,  "  Let  ns  go  unto  Laza- 
nis,"  Thomas  said  to  the  other  Apostles,  "  Let  us  go  also,  that  we 
may  die  with  Him;"  which  sliows  that  they  knew  Christ's  deep 
and  tender  love  for  this  eartlily  friend,  a  manifestation  of  the 
Divine  love  Mhicdi  l>ronglit  Him  from  Heaven  to  take  ow  na- 
ture, and  die  in  it  for  our  sins.  Thomas  appears  only  three 
times  (;onspicuously  in  the  Gospel,  but  always  tlie  same  man 
— incredulous,  reluctant  to  believe  only  on  sufficient  evidence, 
capable  of  strong  impulses  and  attachments,  and  one  of  tlie  best 
witnesses  for  Christ's  Divinity  and  resurrection. 

Christ  was  glad,  for  their  sakes,  that  He  was  not  present 
while  Lazarus  was  sick;  because  He  would  have  been  asked  to 
restore  him,  and  He  would  not  have  had  occasion  to  work  the 
mightier  miracle  of  raising  him  from  death,  "  to  the  intent  ye 
may  believe,"  and  so  to  increase  their  faith.  Wiien  He  came 
to  Bethany,  Lazarus  had  been  already  four  days  in  the  grave; 
and  many  friends  were  present,  to  comfort  the  sisters  concerning 
their  brother. 

When  Martha  heard  that  Christ  was  coming,  she  went  out 
to  meet  Him;  and  expressed  her  faith  in  Him,  saying,  "If  Thou 
hadst  been  here,  my  brother  had  not  not  died.  But  I  know  now 
M'hatsoever  Thou  wilt  ask  of  God,  God  will  give  it  Thee."  "Je- 
sus saitli  unto  her,  thy  brotlier  shall  rise  again;"  and  Martha 
said,  she  knew  it — at  the  resurrection.  And  from  this  remark 
-it  is  seen  how  Christ's  doctrine  of  a  final  resurrection  of  tlie  dead 
•  was  known  among  the  common  people;  and  this  confession  of 
her  faith,  caused  a  new  revelation  of  the  docti-ine.  He  said,  "  I 
am  the  Resurrection  and  the  life:  and  he  that  believeth  in  Me, 
thougli  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live;"  and  tliis  He  was  about 
io  prove  by  raising  Lazarus — now,  at  least,  four  days  dead;  and 
He  demanded  from  her  if  she  believed  Him  ?  And  she  said, 
■"Yea  Lord;  I  believe  that  Thou  art  the  Christ,  tlie  Son  of  God, 
who  should  come  into  the  world." 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  243 

Saying  this,  she  went  immcdiatel^y  to  call  her  sister  Mary, 
saying,  "Tiie  Master  is  come,  and  calleth  for  thee;"  and  she 
arose  quickly,  and  went  to  Him. 

Those  consoling  words  of  God,  onr  Savionr,  to  His  sorrow- 
ing disciple,  are  incorporated  into  tlie  Burial  Office  of  His  Church, 
and  embodied  in  her  Creed  ;  and  are  the  first  words  mourners 
now  hear,  as  thej'  begin  to  perform  the  last  sad  offices  of  love  in 
the  burial  of  their  dead.  And  there  was  a  deptli  of  meaning  in 
the  words,  which  Christ,  the  Lord  of  Life,  then  only  knew  :  that 
death  does  not  touch  man's  immortal  spiritual  life.  The  death 
of  the  animal  soul  releases  his  spirit  from  its  union  with  the 
body;  and  though  that  be  dead,  he  is  alive  with  increased  knowl- 
edge and  capacity  to  know  the  mysteries  of  God,  and  a  higher 
life.  And  the  promise  He  made  to  believers,  that  that  life  shall 
never  die,  looked  onward  to  the  second  death — which  is  suffer- 
ing with  no  last  gasp  and  pang  to  end  it. 

Here  were  two  purposes  accomplished:  first,  the  faith  of 
the  woman  expressed  in  Him  as  the  Christ;  second,  her  knowl- 
edge of  the  resurrection — and  this,  before  she  had  witnessed  the 
mighty  miracle  of  raising  to  life  her  brother,  so  long  dead.  The 
world  could  not  well  spare  this  testimony,  from  a  woman  who 
had  seen  Him  often,  at  intervals,  during  three  years,  in  the  un- 
guarded intercourse,  where  He  was  a  guest  in  her  father's  house. 
Then  she  hurried  with  her  sister  Mary  to  where  Cin-ist  was;  and 
many  friends,  who  had  come  to  comfort  them,  followed — suppos- 
ing they  were  going  to  Lazarus'  grave  to  weep — and  so  were 
present  as  witnesses  of  his  resurrection.  The  burial  place  was 
near  Bethany,  Avhere  Mary  met  Him  ;  and  she  fell  down  at  His 
feet,  and  expressed  her  faith  in  Him,  in  the  same  words  of  Mar- 
tha, "If  Thou  hadst  been  here,  my  brother  had  not  died." 

Jesus  was  troubled  at  the  sorrow  and  tears  of  these  friends. 
His  human  sympathy  was  moved  to  its  depths  ;  and  He  asked, 
"  Where  have  ye  laid  him  ?  "     "  They  say,  come  and  see."    And 


244  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

as  He  stood  by  the  grave  of  tlie  man  lie  had  loved,  "He  wept;" 
showing  His  Inunan  nature,  as  the  Son  of  Man — in  sweet  con- 
trast M'ith  the  exercise  of  Divine  power  He  was  going  to  use,  as 
the  Son  of  God.  The  only  instances  of  Christ's  weeping,  are  at 
the  grave  of  Lazarus,  and  when  He  foretold  the  destruction  that 
Mould  come  on  Jerusalem. 

The  earth  is  called  a  vale  of  tears;  the  world  is  full  of 
mourners  ;  all  the  saints  are  represented  as  shedding  tears.  Jesus 
wept  here,  but  in  the  kingdom  above  He  will  wipe  aMay  all 
tears.  And  the  assurance  we  have  of  it  is,  that  on  this  occasion 
He  showed  Himself  able  to  do  so,  turning  their  mourning  and 
weeping  into  joy  and  rejoicing. 

The  Jews  saw  and  spoke  of  Christ's  tender  love — and  here 
comes  out  another  fact  of  their  belief  in  Christ's  divine  power: 
c(nild  not  this  man,  who  opened  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  liave  saved 
this  man's  life?  That  is  an  incidental  proof,  that  He  wrought 
that  miracle  recently  at  Jericho;  and  in  this  way  the  Gospels 
pile  mite  after  mite  of  testimony  to  our  Lord's  Divinity,  until  it 
becomes  a  mountain,  as  unshakable  and  endurable  as  the  exis- 
tence of  the  eternal  God. 

Lazarus  was  buried  in  a  cave,  and  a  stone  lay  upon  it.  And 
Christ,  groaning  in  Himself,  came  to  the  grave;  and  He  said, 
"Take  away  the  stone  ;  "  and  Martha  remonstrated,  saying  he 
had  been  dead  four  days,  and  decomposition  must  have  begun. 
She  supposed  the  staying  of  corruption  was  a  work  beyond  His 
power;  and  He  said  to  her,  "Said  I  not  unto  thee,  that,  if  thou 
wouldest  believe,  thou  shalt  see  the  glory  of  God  ?  "  He  liad 
told  the  Apostles,  when  the  news  of  Lazarus'  sickness  was  brought 
to  Him,  "This  sickness  is  not  unto  death,  but  for  the  glory  of 
God,  that  the  Son  of  God  might  be  glorified  thereby."  He  fore- 
saw that  His  own  death  and  glorification  in  the  Godhead  would 
be  the  result  of  Lazarus'  resurrection. 

The  stone  was  removed  from  the  tomb  where  Lazarus  was 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  245 

laid,  and  "Jesus  lifted  up  His  e_yes,  and  said:  Father,  I  thank 
Thee  that  Thou  liast  heard  Me,  and  I  knew  that  Thou  hearest 
Me  always;  but  because  of  the  people  wlio  stand  bv,  I  said  it, 
that  tliey  may  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  Me."  Then  He  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  "Lazarus,  come  forth;  and  he  who  was  dead 
came  forth,  bound  hand  and  foot,"  and  his  grave  clothes  about 
him;  and  Christ  said,  "Loose  him  and  let  Him  go."  And  one 
marvel  of  the  miracle  was,  that,  though  he  was  thus  bound,  he 
stood  erect  in  their  midst. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  decay  had  begun  in  Lazarus, 
in  that  latitude;  for,  in  a  similar  one,  I  have  known  it  needful 
to  say  the  burial  service  over  a  young  person,  who,  twelve  hours 
before,  possessed  her  senses  and  speech.  What  Lazarus  saw  in 
that  interval,  and  where  his  spirit  was — while  his  soul  was  dead, 
and  his  body  in  the  tomb — are  hiddeji  from  us,  until  we  solve 
the  mj'stery  by  our  own  experience.  But  many  Jews  believed 
in  Christ  because  of  this  miracle,  and  reported  it  to  the  Phari- 
sees; and,  it  was  the  direct  cause  of  Christ's  crucifixion. 

The  miracle  has  been  questioned,  because  only  St.  John  re- 
corded it;  but  the  reason  is  apparent:  The  other  Evangelists 
wrote  while  Simon  and  his  children  were  alive,  and  to  have  re- 
lated it  then  might  have  led  to  their  njurder  by  tlie  Jews;  but 
when  St.  John  wrote  they  were  probaljly  dead,  and  there  was  no 
no  need  of  witholding  names  and  details, — while  there  must 
have  been  many  alive,  who  would  have  denied  it  were  it  not  true. 

All  the  particulars  have  the  impress  of  truth,  and  are  so  nat- 
ural that  it  is  hardly  possible  tliey  could  have  been  imagined, 
unless  they  were  real.  No  writer  of  iiction  has  ever  invented  a 
story  so  plausible,  and  which  so  carries  with  it  the  conviction  of 
its  truth.  And  then  it  is  conlirmed  by  tlie  fact,  that  the  Phari- 
sees called  a  Council  to  consider  the  expediency  of  killing  Christ, 
because,  "  If  we  let  Him  alone,  all  will  believ^e  on  Him  ;  and  tlie 
Konums  v.dll  come,  and  take  away  our  place  and  nation." 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 


THE    CHIEF    PRIESTS'    COUNCIL. 


"When  the  report  of  Lazarus'  resurrection  reached  the  Chief 
Priests  and  Pliarisees,  they  culled  a  Council  to  decide  what  should 
be  done  because  of  Christ's  popularity;  and  they  feared  the 
people  would  make  Him  a  king,  and  create  a  revolution  that 
would  cause  the  loss  of  their  authority. 

Meanwhile,  Christ  went  from  Bethany  into  tlie  region  be- 
yond Jericho — the  wild  and  mountainous  wilderness  of  Ephraim 
—to  avoid  His  arrest,  until  He  was  ready  to  deliver  Himself 
to  His  enemies. 

No  record  is  preserved  of  what  our  Lord  said  or  did,  in  that 
retreat.  He  went  there  for  repose,  and  preparation  for  tlie  try- 
ing scenes  before  Him  on  Passion  A¥eek;  all  was  personal  for 
Him,  and  it  was  too  sacred  to  be  blazoned  to  the  world.  He- 
moved  from  His  enemies,  He  doubtless  passed  His  time  in  prayer 
and  gathering  strength  for  His  last  conflict  Avith  Satan  and  death  ; 
and  giving  His  Apostles  instruction  how  to  continue  the  miglity 
wo)-k  He  was  about  to  commit  to  them,  of  carrying  the  glad  tid- 
ings of  His  Gospel  and  Church  into  all  the  world. 

Meanwhile,  that  Council  of  the  Jews  was  making  history 
nnd  themselves  unimpeachable  witnesses  that  Christ  did  suffer. 
They  lirst  decided,  "  If  we  let  this  Man  alone,  all  men  will  be- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  247 

lieve  on  Hiiii  ;  and  the  Homans  Avill  come,  and  take  away  our 
place  and  nation."  And  this  will  be  seen  to  be  an  important 
fact,  when  Christ  is  brought  to  trial  before  Pilate. 

Then  Caiaphas  said  to  the  Council,  "Ye  know  nothing  at  all 
nor  consider  that  it  is  expedient  for  us  that  one  man  should  die 
for  the  people,  and  that  the  whole  nation  perish  not."  This  he 
spake  as  prophecy  ;  but,  in  his  judicial  blindness,  did  not  know 
the  import  of  his  words,  and  that  Christ's  death  would  finally 
cause  what  he  proposed  to  kill  Him  to  avoid.  And  the  history 
of  that  Council  is  unimpeachable  testimony  for  the  Gospel  nar- 
rative; because  it  reveals  tliat  the  very  men  named  there,  and 
the  characters  they  bore,  were  historical.  There  were  then  two 
High  Priests,  Annas  and  Caiaphas;  tlie  former  had  been  de- 
posed five  years  before  by  the  Romauf,  but  the  Jews  regarded 
him  as  the  lawful  one.  Yet  God  appears  to  have  recognized 
Caiaphas,  and  gave  him  the  spirit  of  prophecy;  and  made  both 
of  them  witnesses  for  Christ's  Divine  character  and  mission  as 
tlie  Messiah,  v/ho  was  to  die  not  only  for  that  nation,  but  to 
gather  together  God's  children  in  the  Gentile  v/orld.  But  the 
ground  on  which  he  advocated  Christ's  death  was  political,  un- 
scrupulous, and  unjust;  and  proves  true  what  He  said  of  the 
Rulers  of  the  Jews. 

God  did  not  withdraw  the  gift  of  prophecy  from  His  peo- 
ple, until  they  had  filled  up  the  measure  of  tlieir  iniquity,  by 
doing  what  they  had  prepared  themselves  for,  by  crucifying  His 
Son;  and  while  Caiaphas  told  the  Council  they  knew  nothing  at 
all  about  this  expediency  of  one  Man's  dying  for  them  and  the 
nations,  he  probably  knew  as  little  of  the  real  import  of  his 
M'ords;  and,  that  they  were  but  the  renewal  of  an  older  prophecy 
of  tlie  Messiah's  death.  But  he  and  Pontius  Pilate  are  the 
world's  two  great  witnesses,  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Incarnate  Son  of  God  ;  because  they  jointly  caused  His  cruci- 
fixion. 


248  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

And  now  we  look  l>!U'k  over  the  world's  history,  and  see 
that  the  pruphcey  of  this  nrijnst  man  proved  trne — that  Christ  is 
the  Saviour  of  the  woi'ld,  the  one  Man  who  should  die  for  the 
people;  and  that  his  fear,  that  the  Rouians  would  come  to  take 
away  their  place  and  nation,  which  he  was  plotting  to  prevent, 
actually  took  place  before  that  whole  generation  was  dead — be- 
cause they  crucified  Cln-ist.  Such  is  the  example  which  history 
gives  of  God's  retrilnition  fur  the  unjust  condemnation  of  His 
eternal  Son. 

From  the  day  of  that  Council,  the  Pharisees  sought  Christ's 
death  ;  and  they  published  a  commandment  requiring  any  man 
who  knew  where  He  was,  to  make  it  known  to  them.  And  it 
was  probabl_y  their  intention  to  have  Him  privately  assassinated 
without  any  legal  forms.  But  God's  will,  and  the  fulfillment 
of  prophecy  and  the  world's  salvation,  and  the  testimony  for 
Christ,  required  a  publi(;  jndiciïd  trial  to  end  His  life  ;  so  that 
He  sliould  not  only  die  at  the  hour  the  Pascal  landj  was  killed, 
but  also  have  the  testimony  of  the  Sanhedrim,  and  tif  the 
Koman  Governor,  that  He  was  crucified  because  He  claimed  to 
be  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  king  of  the  Jews. 

THE    JEWISH    PASSOVER. 

For  fifteen  centuries  the  Jews  had  annually  celebrated  the 
Passover,  to  commemorate  their  ancestors  miraculous  deliverance 
from  bondage,  in  Egypt  ;  and  as  a  type  and  preparation  for  tlie 
coming  of  the'  Son  of  God,  to  deliver  mankind  from  bondage  to 
Satan  and  death.  The  spi'inkling  of  blood  on  tlie  door  posts  of 
the  Israelites — which  saved  them  from  tlie  destroying  angel — 
was  tv'M'-:"»,]  of  G'>4's  mercy  in  pa^^sing  over  and  sparing  all  who 
are  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Christ,  in  His  new  covenant  of 
holy  baptism. 

The  week  preceding  the  Passover  Avas  kept  as  a  time  of 
purification,  in  acts  of  humiliation  and  repentance.     The  Law 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  249 

required  certain  rites  in  the  Temple,  and  all  pious  Jews  went  up 
to  Jerusalem  for  that  purpose;  and  it  was  the  root  of  the  Lenten 
Season,  grafted  on  it  by  our  Lord's  example,  and  that  has  ever 
since  been  observed  by  His  Church.  Tlie  time  for  the  last  legal 
celebration  had  come;  and  Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God — who  was, 
by  the  one  sacrifice  of  Eiimself,  to  make  a  perfect  satisfaction 
for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world — was  on  His  way,  going  up  to 
present  Himself  as  ready  to  be  offered. 

And  six  days  before  the  Passover,  Jesus  came  to  Bethany, 
to  Simon's  house,  where  He  was  wont  to  aV)ide  when  near  Jeru- 
salem; and  where  Lazarus  was,  whom  He  had  raised  from  the 
dead.  And  it  is  a  wonderful  confirmation  that  the  miracle  was 
wrought  there,  that  now — after  nineteen  centuries — the  modern 
Arab  name  of  the  village  of  Bethany,  means  Lazarus;  and  so  the 
earth,  with  its  Jerusalem,  and  Bethany,  Gethsemane,  and  Cal- 
vary, and  angels,  and  devils,  and  men,  and  His  Own  Miracles, 
and  God  the  Father's  voice,  and  the  Gospel  and  Church,  an>\ 
Christendom,  all  unite  tlieir  testimony  to  assure  us  that  Jesus 
was  the  Christ,  the  Licarnate  Son  of  God,  and  the  world's  great 
Saviour. 

The  sixth  day  before  the  Passover  was  the  original  seventh 
day,  on  which  God  rested  after  He  finished  the  work  of  Crea- 
tion; and  is  the  first  day,  and  Sunday,  of  the  Christian  week. 
"Wlien  the  Israelites  can^e  out  of  Egypt,  that  ri^-ht  Gcid  institut- 
ed the  Passover,  and  put  back  the  original  Sabbath  one  day,  to 
our  Saturday;  and  that  was  the  Hebrew  Sabbath  for  fifteen  cen- 
turies, kept  as  a  memorial  of  Creation,  and  of  God's  merciful 
deliverance  of  their  ancestors  from  Egyptian  bondage.  And  on 
that  original  Sabbatli  Christ  rose  from  tlie  dead,  and  restored  it, 
as  the  Lord's  day,  to  its  original  seventh  day;  to  forever  com- 
memorate God's  works  of  Creation,  the  deliverance  of  His  people 
from  Egyptian  bondage,  and  His  own  resurrection,  and  man's 
redemption  from  bondage  to  Satan,  sin,  and  death.  And  Sunday 


350  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

lias,  over  since,  been  kept  as  the  day  of  rest  for  man,  and  for  the 
worship  of  God  by  Ilis  Chureli  and  Cln-istendoin;  and  as  the 
Gentiles  observed  a  festival  (called  Sunday,  in  lionor  of  the  Sun, 
it  was  a  help  to  bring  them  to  Cln-istian  worsliip.  And  that  has, 
ever  since,  been  one  of  the  names  of  the  Lord's  day. 

It  was  a  Jewish  custom  to  make  a  festive  supper  live  days 
before  the  Pascal  lamb  was  taken  to  the  Temple,  to  b(!  shut  np, 
as  devoted  to  God,  until  it  was  sacrificed.  This  feast  Simon,  the 
leper,  made;  and  Lazarus  was  with  Christ  at  the  table.  And 
there  Mary  poured  the  ointment  on  His  head,  and  anointed 
His  feet,  and  wiped  them  with  her  hair;  and  but  for  Judas'  com- 
plaint— that  it  might  have  been  sold  for  mucli  and  given  to  the 
poor — it  might  not  have  been  known  that  it  was  for  His  l)urial. 
It  is  strange  that  this  Mary  and  her  act  should  have  been  con- 
fonude*^'  with  that  of  Mary  Magdalene,  which  occurred  two  years 
before  in  the  house  of  Simon,  a  Pharisee;  for  there  is  nothing 
in  common  with  the  women,  except  their  names,  and  that  both 
acts  were  in  the  house  of  a  man  named  Simon.  One,  was  a  sin- 
ner living  at  Magdela;  the  other,  had  chosen  the  good  part,  and 
lived  at  Bethany. 

At  that  feast  reclined  Judas,  a  thief  and  reprobate,  who 
?vas  to  betray  and  prepare  the  way  for  his  Lord's  crucifixion  ; 
and,  also,  to  forever  be  the  chief  and  most  reliable  witness  the 
w^orld  has  for  His  divinity.  In  reply  to  Judas'  complaint,  Jesus 
suid,  "She  hath  done  this  against  the  day  of  My  burial;"  which 
tells  how  perfectly  He  knew  what  was  before  Him  ;  and  that  all 
the  preparations  for  His  death  were  proceeding  according  to  His 
w-ill  and  direction. 

Prophecy  foretold  that  there  would  l)e  one  traitor  Apostle, 
who  would  forfeit  his  Bishopric;  and  Christ  needed  this  betrayer, 
who  had  known  Him  in  private  and  publie,  and  seen  His  holy 
lite,  heard  His  pure  doctrines,  been  present  at  His  mighty  mir- 
acles, to  be  an  unimpeachable  witness  to   His  innocence,  and 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  251 

perfect  the  testimony  concerning  Him,  as  Judas  afterwards  did. 
And  so  Christ  said  to  Judas,  "Let  her  alone;  the  poor  ye  have 
with  you  always,  and  whensoever  ye  will  may  do  them  good; 
but  Me,  ye  have  not  always."  And,  in  saying  slie  had  done  it 
for  His  burial.  He  swept  away  the  disciples  false  expect.itions  of 
a  temporal  kingdoin;  for  what  could  He,  who  was  about  to  die, 
do  for  their  earthly  glory,  as  they  saw  no  signs  of  a  kingdom.  It 
was  a  timely  warning  to  Judas,  to  awaken  him  to  a  sense  of  the 
enormous  crime  he  was  soon  to  commit. 

Then  Christ  said,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  whereso- 
ever this  Gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the  whole  world,  there  shall 
also  this  that  this  woman  hath  done  be  told  for  a  memorial  of 
her."  This  was  a  prophecy  none  but  God  could  have  foreseen 
and  foretold;  it  was  not  even  likely  to  be  fulfilled.  But  His 
words  consecrated  it  for  perpetual  transmission;  and  now,  after 
all  these  centuries,  they  are  part  of  His  Church's  Gospel  for  the 
Monday  before  Easter,  and  are  read  twice  every  year  in  the 
Lessons  in  every  branch  of  the  Anglican  Church  ;  and  so  over  all 
the  world — for  the  sun  never  sets  on  her  worship,  and  they  have 
been  translated  into  five  hundred  dialects  of  human  language,  and 
have  been  sent  wherever  man  has  wandered.  So  His  words 
prove  His  Divine  foreknowledge  ;  and  besides  that,  the  world  is 
filled  with  the  blessings  of  His  death,  as  that  house  was  with 
the  sweet  odor  with  whick  He  waa  anointed  for  it. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 


CHRIST'S  ENTRY  TO  JERUSALEM. 


It  is  estimated  tliat  three  millions  of  people  had  assembled 
in  and  around  Jerusalem,  havint^  come  to  the  Passover,  tliere 
being  a  general  expectation  that  something  extraordinar}'  was  to 
occur;  though  none  but  Christ  knew  that  it  would  be  tlie  last 
legal  festival  celebrated,  and  that  lie  wjis  the  Lamb  of  God 
who  was  to  end  the  sacritices. 

Clirist  and  the  Apostles  had  rested  at  Bethany — on  the  last 
legal  Jewish  Sabbath — where  many  people  had  came  to  see  Him 
and  Lazarus;  and  on  Sunday  morning  He  went  up  towards  Je- 
rusalem, followed  by  a  multitude  going  to  the  daily  sacrifice. 

It  was  through  faith  in  Ilim  that  all  sacrifice  had  been 
effectual  for  salvation;  the  Churcîh  of  God  never  had  but  one 
Lord,  one  faith,  and  one  sacrifice.  Before  creation  Christ  loved 
the  Church,  for  it  was  a  development  from  the  kingdom  in 
Heaven  ;  and  Christ  gave  Himself  for  it,  for  all  who  lived  before 
Ilim,  !is  well  as  all  since. 

This  day  His  popularity  reached  its  climax,  and  the  scenes 
on  His  ascent  to  tlie  city,  and  in  the  Temple,  caused  the  wrath 
of  the  Eulers  to  increase,  until  it  exhausted  itself  in  reviling 
Him  as  lie  was  expiring  on  the  cross.  The  procession  from 
Bethany  atti-acted  multitudes,  and  when  it  reached  Bethphage, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  2r)2 

Christ  sent  two  disciples  to  bring  Him  an  ass  and  lier  colt;  and 
if  the  owners  objected,  to  say,  "The  Lord  liath  need  of  them;" 
and  everything  happened  as  He  foretold.  The  mother  animal 
syml)olized  Judaism  passing  away  with  old  age;  and  the  colt 
WHS  a  ty])e  of  Cin-istianity,  with  its  larger  freedom  and  univer- 
sal adaptation  to  mankind. 

It  was  no  triumph  of  ambition  or  pride,  and  no  desire  for 
self-glory,  that  influenced  Christ.  The  disciples  brought  the  colt, 
put  their  garments  on  him,  and  placed  Christ  thereon;  kings 
and  prophets  anciently  rode  on  asses,  and  Solomon  so  entered 
Jerusalem,  a  thousand  years  before,  going  to  his  coronation,  as 
a  type  of  Christ's  now  triumphal  entry.  And  though  He  was 
going  to  the  Temple  to  take  possession  of  it,  as  its  Lord  ;  and  to 
be  recognized  by  the  Father's  voice  from  Heaven,  as  His  Son  ; 
and  to  fulfill  a  prophecy;  and  the  scene  had  all  the  signs  of 
royalty;  yet,  He  w^ent  humbly  and  sorrowfully,  knowing  what 
the  end  would  be. 

As  He  approached  the  city,  the  people  and  the  enthusiasm 
increased;  and  they  threw  branches  of  palms,  and  strewed  their 
garments  in  the  way — the  palms,  emblems  of  victory — and  the 
garments,  as  if  the  earth  were  not  good  enough  for  Him  to  ride 
on.  And  the  disciples,  enraptured  by  the  honor  to  Christ,  began 
to  praise  the  Lord,  in  the  Psalm  in  wiiicli  this  scene  had  been 
predicted,  a  thousand  years  before,  and  in  which  the  angels  an- 
nounced His  incarnation  and  birth. 

"Blessed  is  He  who  cometli  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
Hosannah  in  the  High.cst;  peace  in  Heaven  and  glory  in  the 
Highest."  And  He  moved  on  amid  the  surging  and  tumultuous 
stream  of  living  beings  whi(;h  went  before  and  followed  after, 
like  a  river  of  life,  until  He  reached  the  angle  of  the  road  that 
hid  the  Temple  from  His  view;  and,  coming  in  sight  of  its  mag- 
nificent and  dazzling  ])innacles  and  Avrdls,  He  paused  for  a  mo- 
ment; and,  consjcious  of  the  judgment  the  Rulers  would  bring 


254  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

on  tliemselves,  tlieir  Temple,  and  city,  lie  wept; — for  He  knew 
tliat,  after  five  days  more  other  voices  would  cry,  "Away  with 
Him  !  crucify  Ilini!" 

Jesus  had  wept,  a  few  weeks  before,  at  Lazarus'  grave;  but 
now  He  wept  for  the  blindness  and  unbelief  of  the  Eulere  of 
the  nation,  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  from  which  there  would 
be  no  resurrection.  He  wept  in  love  and  sorrow,  because  they 
were  sinning  away  their  last  days  of  grace;  and  lie  knew  no 
rebukes  of  His,  nor  His  own  death,  would  bring  tliem  to  re- 
pentance, nor  avert  God's  judgments  that  were  coming  on  the 
place  and  people. 

And  there  He  foretold  their  destruction,  which  was  in 
Btrano-e  contrast  with  the  whole  scene,  and  the  Hosannas  that 
had  not  yet  ceased  filling  the  air;  saying  that  they  might  have 
known  what  belonged  to  their  peace,  but  now  it  Avas  hid  from 
them;  and  the  days  were  coming  when  their  enemies  would 
compass  them  and  their  children  on  every  side,  and  level  Jeru- 
salem with  the  ground,  and  notileave  one  stone  on  another,  be- 
cause they  knew  not  the  time  of  their  visitation. 

He  had  already  foretold  to  His  disi-Jples,  that  Jerusalem 
would  be  destroyed  for  rejecting  Him;  but  now  He  includes  the 
Temple  and  inhabitants;  because  they  would  not  know  the  things 
which  bcdonged  to  their  peace,  nor  His  visitation — therefore, 
their  day  of  probation  was  ending.  And  He  described  their  de- 
struction with  all  the  particularity  of  one  who  had  witnessed  the 
event,  and  it  is  confirmed  by  Josephus  who  did  witness  it;  sal- 
vation was  then  hidden  from  the  eyes  of  the  Rulers. 

But  the  days  will  come — they  were  forty  years  off — when 
the  enemies  will  compass  the  city  and  Temple,  and  lay  them 
and  the  inhal)itants  within  them  level  with  the  ground.  And  this 
was  literally  fulfilled  by  the  Romans,  though  Titus  tried  to  save 
the  Temple;  yet  the  obstinacy  of  the  Jews  so  enraged  the  sol- 
diers, that  he  could  not  refrain  them  from  destroying  it,  and  they 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  255 

crucified  many  besides  those  killed  by  the  sword,  and  an  hundred 
thousand  people  perished.  And  no  wonder  Christ  wept,  as  He 
foresaw  that  terrible  scene.  And  this  prophecy  is  better  proof  of 
His  divinity  than  all  His  miracles,  historically  considered,  be- 
cause if  tliere  were  possibility  of  deception  in  them,  there  is  none 
in  this  ;  for  Jerusalem  is  now  a  monument  of  that  foretelling,  bnilt 
out  of,  and  over  the  massive  ruins  of  tlie  old  city  and  Temple. 

The  vast  throng  paused  while  Christ  wept,  and  made  His 
lament  over  the  City  of  Zion,  endeared  to  Him  by  so  many  asso- 
ciations with  the  2:)eople  of  God;  where  the  Temple  had  preserved 
His  worship,  and  the  priesthood  had  guarded  and  transmitted 
His  revelation  for  so  many  centuries,  while  the  whole  Gentile 
worla  was  sunk  in  idolatry. 

Again  the  great  river  of  human  beings,  which  had  come 
from  Eethany,  now  moved  on  towards  the  city,  met  another- 
stream  pouring  out  to  swell  its  volume,  and  their  meeting  re- 
newed the  enthusiasm;  and  the  multitude  that  went  before,  and 
that  followed  after,  united  in  shouting,  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of 
David;  Blessed  is  He  who  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord; 
Hosanna  in  the  Highest." 

When  He  reached  the  city  all  Jerusalem  was  moved,  and 
the  tumult  increased,  and  a  murmiir  of  disapprobation  was  ex- 
pressed in  the  cry, 

"  WHO    IS   THIS  ?  " 

This  Son  of  David;  this  Man,  coming  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord;  this  Man,  to  whom  is  applied,  "The  King  of  Glory."  And 
this  has  ever  since  been  the  great  central  question  in  Theology, 
the  momentous  one  w^hich  has  been  asking  for  almost  two  thou- 
sand years,  and  never  more  anxiously  than  now — and  which 
each  one  must  answer  for  himself,  if  he  will  be  saved  by  Him — 
"Who  is  Jesus  Christ?  What  is  He  to  me?  And  what  am  I  to 
Him  ? 

While  the  people  were  hailing  Christ  as  the  King  of  Glory, 


2S6  LIFE    OF    GHlllST. 

He  passed  into  the  Teiuj)!!',  und  decUired  Himself  its  Lord  ;  and 
a  second  time  cleansed  it,  driving  ont  the  sellers  of  merchandise 
from  its  onter  conrts,  and  said  unto  them,  "It  is  written  My 
House  shall  be  called  the  House  of  Prayer;  hut  ye  have  made  it 
a  den  of  thieves."  This  exercise  of  Christ's  Divine  power,  and 
the  quailing  of  the  intruders,  increased  the  excitement  of  the 
people  ;  and  entering  the  Temple,  the  lame  and  the  blind  came 
to  Him  and  He  healed  them — and  that  caused  a  renewal  of  the 
acclamations,  and  the  children  catch  the  inspiration  and  raptur- 
ously joined  in  the  Hosanna's  to  the  Son  of  David.  And  when 
the  Chief  Priests  and  Rulers  saw  the  wonderful  things,  and  heard 
the  children  shout,  they  were  sore  displeased;  and  said  to  Christ, 
"  Hearest  Thou  what  these  say  ?  " 

"And  He  said  unto  them,  Yea;  have  ye  never  read,  out  of 
the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings,  Thou  hast  perfected  praise  ?  " 
"  If  these  should  hold  their  tongues,  the  stones  would  immediate- 
ly cry  out." 

In  quoting  these  words  of  the  Psalmist,  our  Lord  admitted 
that  He  both  heard  and  understood  the  meaning  of  tlie  children's 
praise;  that  they  were  fulfilling  the  prophecy  which  proclaimed 
Him  the  Lord,  whose  glory  is  above  the  Heavens,  and  whose 
praises  had  provoked  their  enmity.  And  He  left  it  for  tliem  to 
remember  the  rest  of  the  sentence,  "  that  Thou  mightest  still  the 
enemy  and  the  avenger."  And  these  enemies  were  evidently 
abashed  and  confused  by  this  reference  to  the  prophecy;  for 
though  they  were  enraged  by  their  impotence  to  check  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  people,  and  had  given  orders  to  arrest  Him,  He 
remained  undisturbed  for  the  remainder  of  the  day.  And  the 
Pliarisees  said  among  themselves,.  "Perceive  ye  how  ye  prevail 
nothing?  behold,  the  world  is  gone  after  Him."  Thus  Christ 
went  on  accumulating  testimony  for  His  Messiahship,  in  ways 
that  no  genius  of  man  could  have  invented,  and  nothing  but  the 
wisdom  of  God  could  hfve  executed.     Tlie  S(îribes  and  Chief 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  257 

Priests  sono-ht  then  to  destroy  Him  ;  but  tliey  feared  Him, 
because  all  the  people  were  astonished  at  His  doctrine  and  mir- 
acles. 

Certain  Greeks  present  said  to  Pliilip,  "Sir,  we  would  see 
Jesus;'-  and  he  told  Andrew,  and  they  told  Christ;  but  He  did 
not  Tiotice  their  request — probably  because  the  time  drew  near 
for  the  special  act  He  had  come  to  do^  at  the  evening  sacrifice. 
For  He  said,  "  The  hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  Man  should  be 
glorified  ;  it  was  the  hour  when  the  Pascal  Lamb  was  taken  to 
the  Temple,  to  be  shut  up  until  it  was  taken  out  to  be  sacrificed. 
And  then  Christ  offered  Himself  to  the  Fatlier,  ready  and  willing 
to  fulfill  the  type. 

And  He  said,  "  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  a  seed 
of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone  ;  but  if  it 
die  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit;"  and  thus  He  symbolized . His 
own  death  and  burial,  as  the  Seed  of  the  Woman,  and  foretold  its 
result.  And  nothing  is  more  appropriate  than  the  vitality  and 
productiveness  of  seeds;  because  wheat  from  the  pyramids  in 
Egypt  has  grown  in  our  day,  and  one  grain  has  produced  two 
thousand  ears.  It  has  been  sprouted  on  ice.  is  man's  best  food 
and  grows  where  he  attains  the  highest  development. 

When  Christ  had  made  the  great  promise  to  His  disciples- 
that  he  who  hated  his  life  should  save  it  eternally,  and  whoever 
will  follow  Him,  and  be  His  servant,  he  shall  be  where  He  is, 
and  His  Father  will  honor  him;  then  He  made  the  offering  of 
His  own  soul  to  the  Father,  saying,  "  Now  is  my  soul  troiibled  ; 
and  what  shall  I  say?  Father,  save  Me  from  this  hour;  but  for 
this  cause  came  I  unto  this  liour.  Father,  glorify  Tliy  name." 
And  His  voice  sounded  out  from  Heaven,  and  filled  the  Temple, 
so  that  the  people  said  it  thundered  ;  or  that  an  angel  spake  to 
Him,  saying,  "I  have  both  glorified  it  and  will  glorify  it  again." 

This  offering  of  Himself  as  the  Lamb  of  God,  and  the 
shrinking  .>om  it  as  the  Son  of  Man,  manifested  His  two  natures 


258  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

and  showed  tliat  He  was  preparin<r  and  preparod  to  die  ;  nnd  tlie 
Father's  promise  of  more  glory  banished  His  fear  of  deatli  then. 
And  He  did  glorify  Him  in  His  resmrcetion  and  aseeiii^ion  to 
Heaven,  and  by  the  enthronement  of  His  sacred  luimanity  in  tlic 
Godhead  ;  and  by  a  name,  and  fame,  and  blessings  on  mankind 
that  none  but  God  could  give. 

Christ  said  to  the  people,  tlie  voice  came  not  for  His  sake, 
but  for  theirs,  that  they  might  believe  in  Him;  and  tliat  He 
would,  by  His  death,  Itruise  Satan's  liead,  who  had  brought 
death  into  this  world,  and  at  last  bring  him — and  all  whom  He 
had  caused  to  sin — to  judgment,  and  put  an  end  to  his  power  to 
do  evil,  and  forever  shut  him  up  in  Hell. 

From  all  we  know  of  the  moral  darkness  of  the  Gentile 
world  before  Christ  came,  ana  from  its  best  estate  as  we  learn 
from  the  classical  writers  of  the  Golden  Age  of  Roman  literature, 
it  looks  as  if  the  whole  world  was  under  the  devil's  power  ;  and 
nothing  more  diabolical  can  be  imagined  than  the  condition  of 
society.  And  from  the  day  of  Christ's  death,  and  its  redemption 
from  Satan's  almost  unrestrained  control,  the  power  of  Christ 
has  been  gaining  the  ascendancy.  The  devil  was  about  to  make 
his  linal  assault  on  Christ;  but  it  will  be  in  vain.  He  will  judge 
and  condemn  the  world  as  it  is,  will  cast  Satan  out  of  his  do- 
minion over  it  which  he  has  so  long  enjoyed.  And  then  He  said 
rto  the  disciples,  "  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will 
■draw  all  men  unto  Me." 

After  giving  expression  to  His  own  deep  emotion.  He  directs 
the  remainder  of  His  discourse  chiefly  to  the  Hellenists — for  they, 
as  well  as  the  Jews,  knew  that  lifting  up  signified  cruciMxion  ; 
and  by  that,  which  puzzled  both  parties,  they  could  not  under- 
stand how  He  could  draw  all  mankind — Jews  and  Gentiles — 
•unto  Him. 

/  m\  so  the  people  answered  Him,  that  the  Law  said  Christ 
-sviU  abide  fo.rever;  and  how  sayest  Thou,  the  Son  cf  Man  must 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  259 

be  lifted  up?  Wlio  is  this  Son  of  Man?  It  was  equivalent  to 
saying,  We  were  thinking  that  you  are  Christ;  You  say  You  are 
about  to  (lie;  what,  then,  becomes  of  the  kingdom?  Their  un- 
belief was  working.  What  kind  of  a  Messiah  is  this,  Who  is  to 
be  crucitied  and  leave  no  kingdom  '': 

To  these  questions  our  Lord  made  no  direct  answer,  but 
continued  His  discourse  to  tlie  Greeks  ;  speaking  of  Himself  as 
the  Light,  and  so  identifying  Himself  with  the  prophecy  of 
Simeon,  as  "the  Light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of 
my  people  Israel,"  And  He  declared  to  them  tliat  the  Light 
would  be  only  a  little  while  with  them,  and  to  walk  in  it,  or  after 
Him,  before  darkness  came  upon  them;  and  then  they  would  be 
children  of  the  Liglit — or  His  true  disciples. 

That  day  many  Chief  Rulers  believed  in  Christ,  but  were 
afraid  to  confess  it;  and  though  He  had  done  so  many  miracles, 
His  enemies  would  not  believe — and  they  fulfilled  Isaiah's  proph- 
ecy, blinding  their  own  eyes,  and  hardening  their  hearts; 
they  had  cut  themselves  off  from  the  mercy  of  God,  and  made 
tiiemselves  reprobates. 

As  the  time  for  leaving  tlie  Temple  drew  near,  Jesns  cried, 
"  He  that  believeth  on  Me,  believeth  not  on  Me  but  on  Him 
Who  sent  Me;"  and  that  there  should  be  no  doubt  as  to  this 
testiuiony  He  spake  concerning  Himself,  He  said,  "He  that 
seetii  Me,  seeth  Him  Who  sent  Me.  I  come  as  a  light  into  tlie 
world,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Me  should  not  abide  in  dark- 
ness." The  people  had  heard  the  Father's  voice,  and  thc_y  could 
hardly  fail  to  perceive  tliat  He  claimed  to  be  one  with  tlie  Father, 
and  the  Christ  who  was  to  lighten  the  world;  and  if  they  would 
not  believe.  He  said  He  would  not  judge  them  now,  because  He 
liad  come  to  save  men  ;  but,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  He  w^ould  one 
day  judge  the  world. 

These  warnings  He  continued  for  two  days  more,  anxious 
to  help  His  enemies  to  believe  and  repent;  that  He  might  not, 


260  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

at  the  last  day,  pronounce  their  condemnation  to  the  eternal 
pnnislnnent  He  had  forewarned  them  of.  And  He  concluded 
this  day's  teaching  in  the  Temple  with  the  solen)n  declaration, 
tliat  the  words  He  had  spoken  were  not  His,  but  the  Father's, 
Who  had  sent  Him;  and  "I  know  that  His  commandment  is 
everlasting  life:  whatsoever  1  speak,  therefore,  even  as  the  Father 
saith  unto  Me,  so  I  speak." 

Human  language  could  not  more  distinctly  declare  His  one- 
ness with  the  Father,  and  that  He  had  come  from  Heaven  ;  and 
in  refusing  to  hear  Him  they  were  refusing  to  hear  the  Father, 
and  in  rejecting  Him,  they  rejected  the  Father.  And  surely  no 
human  imagination  could  have  imagined  such  a  scene  as  is  liei-e 
described,  and  such  lessons  given  by  a  mortal  man,  unless  they 
were  real  events. 

Evening  came,  and  drawing  His  illustration  from  light  and 
darkness — as  to  the  condition  of  believers  and  unbelievers — He 
departed  from  the  Temple  and  returned  to  Bethany.  Thus  ended 
the  second  day  of  the  Passover  preparation.  On  the  first  day 
He  was  anointed  for  His  burial;  on  this  second  day.  He  pre- 
sented Himself  in  the  Temple  as  the  Pascal  Lamb  of  God,  ready 
for  sacrifice.  And  it  was  a  day  of  wonders — the  Hosannas,  the 
cleansing  of  the  Temple,  the  miracles  and  teaching,  the  Father's 
recognition,  the  denouncing  the  unbelief  of  the  Rulers — and  yet 
no  attempt  was  made  to  arrest  Him. 


g- 


-•  •- 


CHAPTER   XXXV, 


THE  THIRD  DAY  OF  CHRIST'S  PASSION. 


Monday  morning  our  Lord  and  the  Apostles  went  from 
Bethany  to  the  Temple,  followed  by  a  few  disciples.  The 
absence  of  the  people,  and  of  the  enthusiasm  of  yesterday, 
proved  that  His  enemies  were  making  themselves  feared;  and 
Christ  knew  what  the  change  portended.  But  He  made  no  eiïort 
to  escape  from  the  enemies,  as  He  did  a  few  weeks  before 
when  He  retired  to  the  wilderness  of  Ephraim  ;  fearing  no  vio- 
lence He  remitted  no  duty,  but  was  more  earnest  in  doing;  His 
last  work,  as  He  saw  tlie  end  approaching. 

The  road  from  Bethany  to  Jerusalem,  on  the  Eastern  slope 
of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  is  memorable  from  some  of  the  saddest 
events  in  Christ's  life;  He  walked  over  it  twice  daily  in  His 
passion  week  ;  "  at  one  end  of  it  He  was  crucilied,  and  from  tlie 
other  end  ascended  to  Heaven."  As  they  M^ent  up  this  morning, 
they  saw  a  fig-tree  in  leaf;  and  as  the  fruit  forms  before  the  leaf, 
it  should  have  had  fruit,  but  it  was  barren;  and  Christ  went  to 
it— ^not  for  fruit,  but  to  give  a  lesson  to  His  disc. pies — and  He 
said  to  it,  "  Let  no  fruit  grow  on  thee  henceforth  and  forever- 
more  ;  "    and,  at  the  sound  of  His  voice,  the  tree  withered. 

Yesterday  Christ  declared,  in  tlie  Temple,  that  He  had 
come  into  the  world  for  its  final  judgment;  and  He  judged  and 


262  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

condemned  tlie  Jewish  nation  and  Clnirch  then.  The  tree  full  of 
leaves  was  a  type  of  the  self-riîçhteous  Rulers  and  the  corrupt 
Church,  which  were  trusting  to  the  ceremonial  of  the  Law.  and 
hearing  no  fruits  of  its  righteousness;  and  the  blasting  of  the 
tree  was  a  parabolic  representation  to  His  disciples  of  what  was 
coming  on  the  nation,  when  tlie  next  day  He  would  pronoiuice 
its  probation  ended.  And  I)}'  His  power  oyer  the  vegetable  king- 
dom, He  showed  the  disciples  tiuit  He  had  power  also  to  put  an 
end  to  tlie  old  unfruitful  Kingdom  of  God. 

St.  Mark  puts  the  cleansing  of  the  Temple  this  day,  after 
the  withering  of  the  fig-tree;  but  St.  Luke,  who  is  more  regard- 
ful of  chronology,  says  it  was  yesterday.  And  it  is  more  prob- 
able, because  it  atx-ords  best  with  the  events  of  that  day  ;  and 
that  He  should  cleanse  it  before  He  presented  Himself  there  as 
ready  to  be  oifered,  and  to  inaugurate  the  new  Dispensation. 
They  agree  as  to  the  fact,  the  day  is  of  no  moment  ;  and  the 
disagreement  proves,  tliat  there  was  no  collusion  between  them. 
One,  may  have  written  from  personal  knowledge;  and  the  otlier, 
from  hear-say. 

As  Clirist  entered  the  Temple  this  morning,  no  multitudes 
followed  Him,  no  Hosannas  hailed  Him  ;  and  the  silence  was 
ominous  of  the  increasing  influence  ot  His  enemies.  And  as  soon 
as  He  began  to  teach,  the  Oliief  Priests  and  Scribes  came  to 
Him,  and  demanded,  "  By  what  antliority  doest  Thou  these 
things  ?  And  who  gave  Thee  this  authority  'I  "  And  the  won- 
derful dignity  and  readiness  with  which  He  answered  and  con- 
founded them,  in  the  repeated  assaults  they  made  on  Him  this 
day,  are  also  proofs  of  His  Divine  Nature;  for  He  silenced  all 
the  power  and  craft  of  the  wisest  and  ablest  men  in  tlie  whole 
nation,  l)y  His  superior  wisdom. 

One  single  question  rebuked  and  silenced  this  delegation, 
"Was  the  Baptism  of  John  from  Heaven,  or  of  men?"  They 
could  reason  well,  if  they  had  no  faith  ;    and  they  dared  not  say 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  263 

it  was  from  Ilenven,  becanre  He  would  condemn  them  for  not 
believing  in  John  and  receiving  His  baptism.  And  tliey  feared 
to  say  it  was  of  men,  because  all  the  people  believed  him  to 
be  a  prophet  from  God  ;  and  they  would  condemn  themselves  for 
no*/  believing  in  him.  They  said,  they  could  not  tell  ;  and  He 
said  to  them,  "jN'eitlier  tell  I  you,  by  what  authority  I  do  these 
things." 

As  the  Rulers  hatred  increased,  so  did  Christ's  boldness  in 
warning  them  of  the  evils  they  would  bring  on  tlie  nation  for 
their  rejection  of  Him;  they  were  sinning  awaj' tlieir  da^ys  of 
grace,  and  He  devoted  the  last  two  days  of  His  public  ministry 
in  trying  to  bring  them  to  repentance. 

He  spake  several  Parables,  full  of  solenm  warning  for  the 
Rulers;  and  all  bearing  on  the  two  points,  that  He  is  tlie  Clu'ist 
— and  they  are  rejecting  Him  and  preparing  themselves  for  rejec- 
tion by  God,  as  being  no  longer  His  people.  But  the  narra- 
tives of  the  Evangelists  so  differ,  that  it  is  impossible  to  follow 
the  order  of  the  discourses;  ])ut  that  of  the  Two  Sons  appears  to 
have  been  the  first,  and  bearing  upon  the  question  He  had  asked 
them  respecting  John's  baptism. 

He  asked  them,  "  what  think  ye  of  the  man  who  had  two 
sons,  to  whom  he  said,  '  go  work  to  day  in  my  vineyard  :  '  and 
the  first  said,  'I  will  not!'  but' he  afterwards  repented,  and 
went  ;  and  the  second  said,  '  I  go  Sir,  and  went  not  ?  '  "  The 
first  son  represented  the  publicans  and  harlots  ;  and  the  second 
son  was  the  Pharisees,  who  professed  to  do  God's  will  and  did  it 
not.  The  former  had  believed  John's  preaching  and  repented, 
and  were  now  believing  in  Him  ;  and  would  be  received  into 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  be'f<)re  them. 

Then  followed,  the  Parable  of  tlie  Vineyard  :  "  Tlie  owner 
had  put  it  in  perfect  order,  let  it  out  to  husbandmen,  and  went 
mto  a  far  country  ;  and  as  tlie  time  of  the  harvest  came  he  sent 
his  servants  to  receive  it.     They  beat  one,  stoned  anotiier,  and 


264  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

killed  another  ;  but  last  of  all  he  sent  his  son,  and  they  said 
'  Let  ns  kill  hiin,  and  seize  on  his  inheritance;'  and  they  caught 
him.  and  cast  him  ont  of  the  vineyard,  and  slew  him." 

And  Christ  asked  the  Pharisees,  what  they  thought  the  Lord 
of  the  vineyard  would  do  to  such  men?  And  they  answered, 
"  He  will  miserably  destroy  them,  and  let  the  vineyard  to  others." 
Tliey  did  not  see  how  adroitly  He  had  made  them  condenm 
tliemselves,  and  foretold  the  penalty  that  would  follow;  and 
which  Pie  made  more  apparent  by  quoting  tlie  Psnlm  tliat  pre- 
dicted tiie  atrocity  they  were  fulfilling  in  seeking  His  life — the 
Sun  the  FatJier  had  sent,  to  take  possession  of  His  earthly  vine- 
yard— so  the  kingdom  would  be  torn  from  them,  and  given  to 
the  Gentihs.  And  He  said  whoever  fell  on  that  stone  would  be 
broken;  but  on  whomsoever  it  falls,  it  will  grind  Him  to  powder 
— which  was  fulfilled  in  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  Jewish  na- 
tionality ever  since. 

The  Pharisees  saw  the  application  of  the  Parable,  and  were 
eni-aged,  and  sought  to  lay  hands  on  Him  ;  but  they  feared  the 
people.  But  Clirist  had  no  fear  of  them,  and  spake  another 
Paral)le  of  the  Marriage  of  the  King's  Son;  in  which  He  out- 
shadowed  what  He  and  they  were  doing,  and  the  awful  penalty 
that  would  ''onie. 

The  former  Parable  warned  the  Pulers  of  the  judgment  of 
God  impending  on  them,  for  rejecting  His  Son;  but  the  mar- 
riage of  the  king's  son  represented  their  rejection  of  that  king- 
dom— called  tlie  kingdom  of  Heaven — because  He  came  from 
Heaven  to  reorganize  it,  and  finally  annex  it  to  His  kingdom. 
And  this  warned  them  of  the  danger  of  rejecting  that.  God,  the 
Father,  made  the  wedding  for  His  Son — and  the  marriage  was  to 
His  bride,  the  Church,  or  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth. 

The  first  servants  sent  to  call  those  bidden  to  the  marrino-e 
were  the  ])rcachcrs  of  the  first  dispensation — Seth,  Eihh-Ii,  and 
Noahc     All  things  were  ready  as  soon  as  man  fell,  and  the  Church 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  'J65 

ôntside  of  Ptiradise  was  instituted,  witli  its  new  covenant  of 
sacrifice,  which  looked  forward  to  Christ  for  its  efficacy,  tlu-ongh 
tlie  righteousness  obtained  by  obedience  to  God's  hiws;  but  the 
people  refused  it,  and  would  not  come.  Christ  says  nothing  of 
their  fate;  but  St,  Peter  says,  "  God  spared  not  tiie  old  wojld — 
bringing  in  the  flood  upon  the  world  of  tlie  ungodly  ;  and  turning 
the  cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  into  aslies,  condemned  them 
with  an  overthrow,  making  them  an  example  unto  those  that 
after  should  live  ungodly.  ' 

The  next  servants  were  sent  after  God  had  prepared  His 
oxen  and  fatlings,  and  all  things  were  ready;  these  were  the 
prophets  and  priests  after  the  kingdom  had  taken  an  organized, 
visible  form,  given  it  by  God  on  Mt.  Sinai,  after  the  pattern  of 
tlie  kingdom  of  Heaven.  But  the  people  made  light  of  this, 
wont  to  their  farms  and  merchandise  ;  and  the  remnant  took  His 
servants,  evil  treated  and  slew  them.  The  next  day  Christ  told 
these  Pharisees,  "  Ye  be  witnesses  unto  yourselves,  that  ye  are  the 
children  of  them  who  killed  tlie  Prophets,"  Then  the  king  was 
wroth,  and  sent  forth  His  armies  to  destroy  the  murderers,  and 
burned  up  their  city — a  renewal  of  the  former  prophecy.  The 
wedding  was  ready  then,  the  Bridegroom  wjjs  there;  and  by  Him 
they  are  now  declared  unworthy  to  enter  His  kingdom. 

Finally  the  servants  sent  out  by  Christ  into  the  highways, 
to  bring  in  all  they  could  find  both  bad  and  good,  and  the  wed- 
ding was  furnished  with  guests,  were  the  Apostles  and  Seventy, 
who  had  gone  over  all  the  Holy  Land;  these  were  the  sinners 
who  had  prepared  their  wedding  garments  by  faith  in  Him,  and 
by  repentance  and  baptism. 

But  now  the  King  had  come  ;  Christ  was  soon  to  be  pro- 
claimed King  of  the  Jews  by  Pilate.  He  was  there  in  the  Tem- 
ple, as  the  Son  of  Man,  to  declare  the  Jewish  nation  without  a 
wedding  garment,  and  to  tell  the  Rulers  how  they  would  appear 
when  arraigned  before  Him,  and  what  He  would  then  say  to 


266  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

tlicm.  The  man  "was  speccliless ; "  and  the  king  said  to  the 
servants,  the  ani^els,  "Bind  him  liand  and  foot,  and  take  liim 
away,  and  cast  Him  into  outer  darkness;  and  there  shall  be 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth." 

Tlie  Parable  concludes  with  a  prophecy  concerning  the  fu- 
ture of  His  kingdom,  "Many  are  called  but  few  are  chosen.*' 
T!ie  called  are  all  who  heard  Christ  or  His  ministers  tlien,  and 
all  who  have  since  heard  their  successors  or  read  His  Gospel; 
the  chosen  are  those  who  believe  in  Christ,  enter  His  kingdom, 
and  strive  after  a  righteousness  like  His. 

The  Pharisees  understood  the  Parable,  and  were  further 
enraged  ;  and  tried  to  entangle  Him  in  His  words  in  some  way, 
that  they  might  make  an  ex(;use  for  arresting  and  l)ringing  Him 
before  the  Rulers,  to  speedily  accomplish  His  death.  But  His 
matchless  wisdom  and  knowledge  was  too  much  for  their  devices 
and  cunning;  and  after  three  attempts  to  ensnare  Him,  they 
were  repulsed  and  defeated  before  all  the  multitude  in  tlie  Tem- 
ple. And  He  stood  there,  Lord  of  the  Temple,  master  of  tlie  situ- 
ation, and  no  man  could  lay  hands  on  Him. 

The  Pharisees,  finding  themselves  so  far  defeated,  now 
called  to  their  help  the  Herodians,  whom  they  hated  because 
they  favored  the  Roman  dominion  over  their  country;  but  they 
laid  aside  their  personal  animosity,  that  day,  and  united  with 
them  to  conspire  against  Christ.  And  prefacing  their  attack  with 
the  hypocritical  cant,  which  Avas  the  real  truth,  "We  know  Thou 
teachest  tlie  way  of  God  in  truth,  and  carest  for  no  man,"  they 
asked,  "  Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute  to  Coesar,  or  no  ?  "  And  it 
seemed  to  them  impossible  for  Christ  to  escape  their  wiles, 
whether  He  answered  yes  or  no;  because  if  He  said  yes,  they 
would  accuse  Him  to  the  Rulers  as  an  enemy  to  their  authority, 
and  weaken  the  faith  of  many  of  the  people  in  Him.  And  if  He 
said  no,  they  would  accuse  Him  to  the  Roman  Governor,  as  a 
seditious  person,  or  revolutionist,  who  was  preparing  to  make 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  2&} 

Himself  a  l<in2^,  and  establish  a  kino;dom  opposed  to  the  Homans. 

They  first  committed  tliemselves  as  witnesses  for  Christ's 
teaching  the  trutli,  and  îlis  fearlessness  of  man;  and  then  He 
showed  them  that  He  was  more  than  man,  by  making  tliem  see 
that  H3  knew  their  c^-aftiness — isking  them,  "Why  tempt  ye 
me?"  calling  them  hypocrites,  and  confounding  them  by  His 
answer  : 

"  Show  Me  a  penny.  Whose  image  and  superscription  hath 
it?"  They  say  Csesar's;  and  He  said  unto  them,  "Kender  to 
Csesar  the  things  which  be  Csesar's;  and  unto  God,  the  things 
which  be  God's."  Tiiey  could  not  entrap  Him  before  the  peo- 
ple; but,  repulsed  and  ccmfused,  they  marv^elled  at  His  answer, 
and  were  silenced.  No  human  cunning  ever  circumvented  Him; 
all  the  legal  learning  and  ability  of  the  nation  were  in  that  dele- 
gation, but  they  were  repulsed  and  silenced  as  easily  as  if  they 
had  been  children  assaulting  Him — and  that  by  a  copper  penny. 

Meanwhile  Christ  evinced  true  loyalty  and  reverenc^e  for 
the  laws  of  both  God  and  man;  because,  though  the  Romans 
had  subjugated  His  country.  He  knew  it  was  God's  will,  and  He 
advocated  obedience  to  its  foreign  rulers.  He  regarded  the  moral 
rather  than  the  spiritual  relations  whicii  bound  the  people  to  the 
government  under  which  they  lived  ;  these  were  sacred  to  Him, 
but  were  an  aggravation  to  the  Jews. 

The  conspirators  being  silenced,  a  delegation  of  Sadducees 
propounded  a  question  which  none  but  God  could  answer.  They 
did  not  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  asked  Christ 
how  it  would  be,  where  seven  men  had  one  woman  for  a  wife,  in 
the  resurrection,  "  Whose  wife  of  the  seven  shall  she  be  ?  " 

This  law  in  l^euteronomy,  of  successive  marriage  of  breth 
ren,  was  supposed  to  be  a  mystical  type  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  body,  because  of  its  preservation  of  life-seed  through  succes- 
sive generations.     But  the  Sad'iucees  expected  to  puzzle  Christ, 
and  confirm  their  belief  in  no  r ,  surrection. 


268  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Tlie  question  admitted  that  Christ  claimed  to  know  the 
mysteries  of  man's  futui*e  life;  but  the  askers  supposed  Ho 
■would  oppose  Moses — saying  it  is  not  lawful  to  liave  but  one 
wife — and  so  be  liable  to  the  accusation  of  opposing  the  decision 
of  the  Rulers.  And  here,  again,  His  wisdom  turned  their  opposi- 
tion into  testimony  to  contirm  the  faith  of  future  generations  in 
Him  as  the  Christ,  and  elicited  truth  which  otherwise  might 
never  have  been  known  in  this  life, 

Christ's  answer  refuted  the  assertion  often  made,  that  the 
Old  Testament  does  not  teach  the  resurrection  of  the  body  ;  and 
revealed  what  was  before  unknown,  that  our  bodies  then  will  be 
like  the  angels,  and  there  will  be  no  marriage  in  Heaven.  And 
He  declared  to  the  Sadducees,  that  they  erred  and  did  not  know 
the  Scriptures  nor  the  power  of  God.  And  possibly  there  never 
will  be  any  greater  exercise  of  Christ's  power,  than  that  when 
He  calls  new  spiritual  bodies  out  from  their  elements  of  nature, 
into  which  the  millions  of  mankind  have  entered;  and  makes 
them  immortal  tabernacles  for  the  inmiortal  spirits,  which  will 
return  from  Hades  and  Paradise  to  animate  thetn. 

And  He  referred  them  to  the  Scripture  where  God  declared 
that  their  fathers — Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  were  jet  living; 
which  they  did  not  doubt,  in  the  spirit.  Therefore,  it  would  not 
be  difficult  for  God  to  give  them  resurrection  bodies  like  the 
angels. 

Thus,  fruitlessly,  ended  the  second  delegation  to  entrap  Him. 
Meanwhile,  a  Scribe — a  lawyer,  who  had  heard  Christ's  words  to 
the  Sadducees,  and  was  impressed  by  the  wisdom  and  probable 
truth  of  His  sayings — asked  Him,  "Which  is  the  lirst  command- 
ment of  all  ?  "  It  is  not  apparent  whether  his  intentions  were 
good  or  evil  ;  probably  it  was  pride  or  ambition  to  see  if  he  could 
not  confound  Christ,  who  had  put  the  Pharisees,  Herodians,  and 
Sadducees  to  silence;  and  so  make  a  reputation  for  himself  before 
the  people. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  269 

Christ  answered  tlie  Scribe,  according  to  the  law,  "To  love 
God  supremely,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself,"  which  was  alwiiys 
a  summary  of  man's  whole  duty;  because  it  leads  to  obedience  to 
all  God's  laws,  and  to  benevolence  to  all  men.  And  tlie  law^yei", 
impressed  with  Christ's  Divine  wisdom  and  manner,  was  almost 
persuaded  to  believe  and  become  His  disciple  ;  for  He  said  to 
him,  "Thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God." 

For  a  whole  day,  Christ  liad  stood  in  the  Temple — ^facing, 
repelling,  and  rebuking  His  enemies,  and  putting  them  to  shame 
before  the  multitude;  and  now,  as  it  drew  towards  evening,  and 
He  was  soon  to  go  from  it,  the  scene  changes  and  Christ  becornes 
the  questioner.  As  the  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of  Judah,  He  turns 
on  these  Rulers — the  hostile  Scribes,  Pharisees,  and  Sadducees — 
and  demands  from  them,  "What  think  ye  of  Christ?  Whose 
Son  is  He  ?  "  And  they  say,  "  the  Son  of  David  ;  "  thus  He  drew 
from  them  what  prophecy  said  concerning  Himself  as  the  Christ, 
as  a  ground  to  convict  their  unbelief. 

Then  He  asked,  "  How  could  David  call  Him  Lord  ?  And 
the  Lord  say  to  Him,  'My  Lord,  sit  Thon  on  My  right  hand  till  I 
make  Thine  enemies  Thy  footstool  ?  '  If  David  called  Him  Lord, 
how  is  He  his  Son?"  These  men  had  heard  Christ's  disciples 
and  the  children  the  day  before,  in  the  Temple,  hailing  Him 
with  Hosanna's,  as  the  Son  of  David,  and  coming  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord. 

By  asking  the  question  how  Christ  could  be  Lord  and  Son 
of  David,  He  gave  them  a  clue,  if  they  had  any  faith,  to  pei-ceive 
the  mysterious  relationship  of  His  Divine  and  human  nature — 
which  He  had  sliown  them  by  His  superhuman  knowledge.  His 
Heavenly  doctrines,  and  mighty  miracles.  But  they  were  deaf 
and  blind,  and  confounded;  and  from  that  day,  asked  Him  no 
more  questions'. 

Tlien  as  Christ  was  abont  to  leave  the  Temple,  in  the  audi- 
ence of  all  the  people,  He  pronounced   this  severe  rebuke  on 


270  LIFEOFCHRIST. 

these  defeated  enemies:  "Beware  of  the  Scribes,  Avhich  wear 
long  robes,  and  love  greetings  in  the  markets,  and  chief  seats  in 
the  sjmagogues,  and  at  feasts  ;  but  devonr  widows  houses,  and 
for  a  show  make  long  prayers  ;  tliese  shall  receive  greater  dam- 
nation." 

With  this  defiant  rebuke  of  His  enemies.  He  went  out  of 
the  Temple,  and  sat  down  opposite  the  Treasui-y,  tlie  great  money 
chest,  which  was  on  the  right  in  entering,  and  looked  on  the  peo- 
ple as  they  were  casting  into  it  their  offerings  to  the  Lord.  In 
this  public  place,  He  was  before  all  the  people  leaving  the  Tem 
pie  ;  and  He  showed  them  that  His  enemies  had  no  power  to  lay 
their  hands  on  Him,  nor  avenge  His  rebukes,  any  more  than  they 
had  to  catch  Him  in  His  words. 

And  then,  anxious  as  He  was  on  all  occasions  to  make  pas- 
sing events  convey  some  useful  lesson,  and,  as  if  glad  to  turn 
His  mind  from  the  evil  hearts  He  had  condemned.  He  looked 
on  the  pious  people  putting  their  gifts  into  the  Treasury  ;  and 
He  let  the  people  around  Him  see,  that  He  knew  the  Immble 
and  contrite  hearts  as  well.  And  He  told  them  how  the  offer- 
ings of  the  rich  and  poor  look  in  God's  sight. 

The  rich  were  casting  into  the  Treasury  of  their  abundance, 
and  a  poor  widow,  possibly  grieving  that  she  could  not  give  like 
them,  cast  in  her  two  mites.  And  Christ  called  the  attention  of 
the  disciples  to  her,  and  said,  "  She  hath  cast  in  more  than  they 
all  ;  they  have  given  of  their  abundance,  but  she  of  her  penury 
hath  cast  in  all  the  living  she  had."  And  that  manifested  His 
Divine  knowledge,  to  tell  what  this  poor  stranger  had  done. 
Thus  ended  tlie  third  day  of  Christ's  passion;  and  He  departed 
from  the  Temple,  and  retui'iied  to  Bethany. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI 

CHRIST'S  LAST  TEACHING  IN  THE  TEMPLE. 

Yesterday,  Christ  silenced  His  enemies  in  the  Temple,  so 
that  none  dared  ask  Him  any  more  questions  ;  but  the  common 
people  heard  Him  gladly,  and  enjoyed  the  discomfiture  of  His 
enemies,  because  they  knew  He  was  the  benefactor  of  the  poor 
and  the  afflicted.  This  morning  He  went  with  the  disciples 
from  Bethany  to  the  Temple,  to  give  the  Rulers  His  last  warn- 
ing. And  as  they  passed  the  fig  tree,  Peter  called  Clu'ist's 
attention  to  it;  and  with  His  divine  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,"  if  they  had  faith  they  could  not  only  do  the  same,  but 
remove  mountains;  and  whatsoever  they  asked  in  prayer  would 
be  given.  He  taught  them  many  times,  that  faith  in  Him  would 
empower  them  to  do  works  like  His,  and  form  in  them  a  char- 
acter like  His.  But  any  attempt  to  test  His  promise  without 
faith  dishonors  Him  ;  because  it  lacks  the  conditions  on  which 
the  answer  is  pledged,  and  will  fail.  This  miracle  has  been 
reproached  as  an  act  of  anger  nr  useless  exercise  of  power,  u^d 
unworthy  of  Christ;  but,  before  His  teaching  ended  that  day, 
they  perceived  how  it  was  a  type  of  the  doom  of  Jerusalem,  and 
the  old  kingdom  of  Israel. 

This  last  warning  to  the  Rulers  showed  that  it  was  rather 
in  sorrow  than  anger,  that  He  had  symbolically  foretold  the  ruin 


272  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

tliey  were  drawing  on  themselves,  and  the  nation  and  Jerusalem. 
For  three  years  they  luvd  been  watching  and  resisting  Hiiu,  and 
for  months  seeking  to  kill  Ilini;  and  He  had  proved  His  Mes- 
sialisliip,  not  only  by  His  holy  life,  and  doctrines,  and  miracles, 
and  siioncing  tlicm,  and  confounding  their  attempts  to  tiiwart 
His  iiifluoTicc  M'ith  the  people,  and  al)ove  all  that  tliey  could  not 
arrest  nor  injure  Him.  And  tlu-ee  days  before  they  had  heard 
the  Father's  voice  in  the  Temple,  saying  that  He  had  glorified 
Him,  and  would  glorify  Him  ;  and  all  liad  failed  to  make  them 
believers,  and  now  nothing  remained  but  to  pronoimce  their 
doom. 

That  He  should  have  been  admitted  to  the  Temple  this 
day,  after  the  order  given  for  His  arrest,  and  after  His  denun- 
ciation of  the  Rulers  as  He  was  leaving  the  Temple  last  evening, 
shows  that  He  restrained  their  wrath  and  power  by  His  Divine 
will;  and  that  He  went  there  and  renewed  His  rebukes  of  tlie 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  calling  their  names,  and  declaring  terrific 
M'oes,  and  no  one  daring  to  question  or  oppose  Him,  is  one  of 
the  strongest  proofs  He  gave  them  of  His  Messiahship  ;  and  it 
is  now  to  us,  that  He  held  them  by  His  Divine  power. 

AYhen  Christ  appeared  in  the  Temple^  the  people  who  loved 
Him  gatliered  around  Him  to  listen  to  His  teaching;  there  was 
no  tumult  or  excitement,  and  He  first  addressed  His  instruction 
to  them.  But  that  was  only  a  prelude  for  the  final  charge,  and 
the  w'oes  He  had  come  to  declare  to  His  enemies,  wliose  hatred, 
and  opposition,  He  had  so  long  patiently  borne — shov.'ing  His 
desire  at  this  last  hour  to  make  them  believe  and  repent,  or  else 
leave  them  without  excuse  for  the  awful  crime  the}'  were  about 
to  commit. 

No  wonder  that  His  words  were  bold,  and  His  denunci- 
ations of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  such  as  were  never  before 
spoken  by  man  to  men;  and  that  He  poured  out  tlie  thunders  of 
Hid  Divine  knowledjçe  in  words  that  nmst  have  scorched  their 


LIFE    OF    CHRISi.  273 

souls,  if  they  had  not  sinned  away  their  day  of  grace,  and  har- 
dened their  ]iea.rts  to  stone — because  He  knew  it  was  tlie  hist 
time  lie  would  appear  in  the  Temple,  and  the  last  public  dis- 
course He  would  deliver  to  these  sinners,  who,  the  next  niglit, 
would  arrest  Him,  and  the  following  day  crucify  Him. 

The  report  that  Christ  was  teacliing  in  t]io  Temple  soon 
spread  in  Jerusalem,  and  tlie  Rulers  of  the  Jews  assembled 
around  Him;  and  knowing  tlieir  treacliery,  and  that  they  would 
that  day  bribe  Judas  to  betray  Him,  He  turned  on  them  with  an 
indigîiation  that  had  been  three  years  repressed,  and  wasted  in 
efforts  to  make  them  believe  in  Him — after  sucli  proofs  of  His 
Messiahship,  as  none  but  God  could  give,  and  as  a  final  effort  to 
bring  them  to  repentance — and  gave  them  His  last  warning. 

His  first  charge  was  to  His  disciples  and  the  multitude,  to 
obey  and  beware  of  the  Scril)es  and  Pharisees;  and  what  mas- 
terly wisdom  and  discrimination  in  the  paradoxical  words:  He 
said  they  must  avoid  tlieir  wicked  works,  and  must  not  make  them 
an  excuse  for  neglecting  their  teaching  according  to  the  Law. 
This  lesson  sliowed  that  He  came  not  to  desti-oy  the  Law,  but  to 
fulfill  and  uphold  it  until  the  Gospel  was  ready  to  take  its  place. 
And  it  was  for  His  Church  in  all  future  times,  to  assure  her 
members  that  the  unworthiness  of  tlie  administrators  of  its  gov- 
ernment and  sacraments  would  not  invalidate  their  acts.  And 
He  choose  Judas,  who  was  a  hypocrite  and  thief,  and  gave  him 
power  to  teach  and  work  miracles;  to  show  wliat  He  meant,  and 
which  was  a  l)lessed  lesson.  Otherwise,  many  might  doubt  all 
their  lives  whether  they  had  received  His  sacraments  lawfully 
or  no. 

And  Christ  practiced  Himself  what  He  taught,- by  His 
loyalty  to  the  Kulers  and  the  old  kingdom  of  God  ;  because  He 
had  always  reverenced  them,  and  obeyed  the  La-w  and  ordinan- 
ces of  the  Jewish  Church.  For  the  only  accusation  against  Him 
was  Sal:)bath-breaking,  and  that  was  admissible  in  case  of  works 


274  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

of  nicrc}'  and  l)encvolcnce;  and  so  was  not,  even  in  tlic  .^tri(•t 
Jewish  sense,  a  violation.  And  His  example,  and  the  advice 
given  yesterday  to  pay  tribute  to  Cffisar,  was  the  beginning  of 
tlie  new  era,  and  the  modern  spirit  of  patriotism  and  loyalty, 
such  as  tlie  world  never  before  had  seen,  and  such  superhuman 
love  and  forbearance  as  God  only  possesses — loy:dty  to  Cfesar, 
and  Pilate,  and  Herod  ;  loyalty  to  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  to 
Aunas  and  Caiaphas,  because  the  powers  that  l)e  are  ordained 
by  God,  Thus  He  first  promulgated  tlie  great  principle  of  obe- 
dience to  law,  because  it  is  the  only  stability  of  human  govern- 
ments, secures  the  right  of  all,  makes  good  government  possible, 
and  which  has  ever  since  been  tending  to  make  all  governments 
better;  and  without  the  supremacy  of  law  no  government  can 
long  exist.  He  enumerated  their  sins  of  imposing  burdens  on 
others  which  they  would  not  share,  doing  all  their  good  works 
to  be  seen  of  men,  vain  glorious,  embroidering  tlieir  garments 
with  texts  of  Scriptm-e  they  did  not  obey;  their  pride  in  choosing 
the  chief  places  at  feasts  and  in  the  synagogue,  and  the  desire 
for  reverence,  and  being  called  Rabbi  in  the  markets. 

These  things  His  disciples  must  avoid;  and  call  no  one 
Master  \n\t  Him,  which  was  to  be  forever  a  warning  against 
individualism,  and  setting  one's  self  up  as  a  religious  leader  and 
reformer,  that  would  lead  to  schism  from  His  kingdom — as  it  did 
in  the  early  ages,  and  as  it  had  led  to  manifold  modern  heresies, 
by  men  who  have  led  away  followers  after  them,  and  caused  the 
confusions  of  Christendom. 

Neither  must  His  disciples  call  any  man  father,  spiritually, 
because  God  is  their  father;  and  Christ  is  the  Head  of  His 
Church,  and  all  mankind  are  brethren  through  Him.  And  this 
was  the  beginning  of  the  new  doctrine  of  the  equality  of  men  in 
God's  sight,  the  principle  that  has  gradually  caused  the  emanci- 
pation of  serfs,  and  slaves,  and  the  elevation  of  the  masses  of 
the  people,  and  made  human  government  by  the  will   of  the 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  273 

people  possible,  and  tlie  lii2;liest  manifestation  of  Christian  civil- 
ization. And  this  lesson  He  conclndes  by  insisting  on  that  great 
duty  of  humility,  so  opposed  to  nnsanctiiied  human  nature,  and 
so  hard  for  even  the  regenerate  to  learn,  but  which  He  mani- 
fested in  His  own  life,  "  I  am  among  you  as  One  Who  serveth." 
Because  self-exaltation  will  bring  abasement  from  God;  and 
eelf-negation  will  be  exalted  by  Him. 

Christ  had  been  all  day  teacliing,  and  no  attempt  was  made 
to  arrest  Him  ;  and  as  it  was  then  drawing  towards  the  evening, 
there  in  the  Temple  of  God,  as  its  Divine  Lord  who  knows  all 
hearts,  He  pronounced  those  woes  on  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  ; 
and  concluded  by  foretelling  the  destruction  they  would  bring 
on  themselves  and  the  Temple,  and  forever  put  an  end  to  the 
Daily  Sacrifice  and  worship  of  the  old  kingdom. 

Our  Lord  began  His  puldic  teaching  with  pronouncing  Be- 
atitudes on  all  who  wou.d  become  His  disciples;  and  to-day  He 
ended  it  by  pronouncing  woes  on  the  Rulers  of  the  nation,  who 
rejected  Him.  Each  woe  is  preceded  by  calling  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  by  name,  and  declaring  them  hypocrites,  as  if  their 
whole  character  were  summed  up  in  that  single  word. 

The  first  woe,  was  for  shutting  up  the  kingdom  of  Heaven 
— not  entering  it  themselves,  nor  suffering  others  to  enter  it  ;  for 
many  Rulers  believed  in  Christ,  but  were  afraid  to  confess  Him, 
because  of  their  opposition. 

The  second  woe,  was  for  their  avarice  and  robbery  of  widows 
and  their  pretentious  prayers;  for  these  they  would  receive  a 
greater  damnation. 

The  third  woe,  was  for  their  proselytism  ;  it  had  no  zeal  for 
God's  honor.  But  by  their  traditions  and  false  doctrines,  they 
made  them  two-fold  more  the  children  of  Hell  than  themselves; 
because,  as  Gentiles  without  God's  law,  they  would  be  judged 
accordingly. 

The  fourth  woe,  was  for  being  blind  guidesj  and  for  perjury. 


27t>  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

and  trifling  witli  oaths.  Tiicy  .ire  called  fools  and  blind,  because 
they  taught  that  swearing  hy  tiie  altar  and  Temple  were  noth- 
ing; but  swearing  by  the  gold  of  the  Temple  and  the  gift  of  the 
altar,  was  sinful.  And  they  were  asked,  "  Whether  is  greater,  the 
gold,  or  the  Temple  that  sanctified  the  gold:  or  the  gift,  or  the 
altar  that  sanctified  the  gift?"  And  Christ  said,  "  Tliat  whoso 
sweareth  by  the  altar  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  all  things  thereon  ; 
and  whoso  sweareth  by  the  Temple,  sweareth  by  it,  and  by  llim 
who  dwelleth  therein;  and  whoso  SAveareth  by  Heaven,  sweareth 
by  the  throne  of  God,  and  by  Ilim  who  sitteth  thereon."  Thus, 
He  convicted  them  of  their  blindness  and  profanity. 

The  fifth  woe,  was  for  their  hypocrisy  in  paying  tithes  on 
mint,  annis,  and  cummin;  and  neglecting  the  weightier  matters  of 
the  Law,  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith.  They  knew  their  own 
prophets  taught  that — to  deal  justly,  and  love  mercy,  and  walk 
Immbly  with  God,  was  of  more  value  in  His  sight  than  whole 
burnt  offerings — much  less  their  pretentious  paying  tithes  on 
garden  herbs;  and  He  repeated  to  them  the  Proverb  of  "strain- 
ing at  a  gnat  and  swallowing  a  camel,"  which  they  did  as  blind 
guides  leading  the  blind. 

The  sixth  woe,  was  carefulness  in  making  clean  the  outside 
of  household  vçssels,  while  their  hearts  within  were  full  of  ex- 
tortion and  excess  ;  and  He  warned  them  to  make  their  hearts 
clean,  and  then  the  outside  conduct  would  be  clean  also. 

The  seventh  woe,  was  in  substance  like  the  former;  they 
were,  by  their  hypocrisy,  like  whited  sepulchres — beautiful  with- 
out, but  full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  all  uncleanness  within. 
And  He  accused  them  of  being  descendants  of  the  men  who 
murdered  the  prophets;  and  He  concluded,  "Ye  serpents,  ye 
generation  of  vipers,  (who  are  filling  up  the  measure  of  your 
fatliers)  how  can  ye  escape  the  damnation  of  Hell  ?  "  And  this 
language  would  have  had  no  sting,  if  these  men  did  not  believe 
in  Hell,  and  its  future  eternal  punishment. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  '277' 

Then  follows  the  prophecy  of  what  these  men  will  do  to 
the  Rulers,  Christ  will  send  to  take  their  places;  they  will  per- 
secute and  scourge  them  from  city  to  city.  And  looking  at  tlie 
vast  aggregate  of  their  hypocrisy  and  wickedness,  how  they  have 
abused  and  profaned  the  trust  of  the  kingdom  of  God  committed 
to  them,  and  are  in  two  days  more  to  cause  His  crucifixion.  He 
concluded  with  the  «'.rushing  indignation  of  His  Divine  wrath — 
.  that  the  blood  of  all  the  martyrs  from  Abel  to  Zachai-ias  will  be 
required  of  them  for  their  stubborn  unbelief,  and  willful  hard- 
heartedness  in  rejecting  Him. 

And  this  with  His  solemn  declaration,  "Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  all  these  things  shall  come  on  this  generation  ;  "  and,  as  if 
overwlvelmed  with  sorrow,  that  neither  His  love  nor  mercy.  His 
warnings  or  threatenings  would  arouse  them  from  their  unbe- 
lief and  wickedness,  or  save  them  from  their  impending  destruc- 
tion; and,  as  He  saw  in  prophetic  vision  the  awful  retribution, 
and  the  utter  desolation  which  the  fury  of  the  Roman  soldiers 
would  bring  on  Jerusalem,  His  pity  and  compassion  were  moved 
to  their  depths;  and  He  poured  out  that  loving,  mournful,  and 
touching  lament: 

"  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the  Prophets, 
and  stonest  them  who  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I 
have  gathered  thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth 
her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not!" 

"  B^iold  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate  !  " 

Thus  He  pronounced  their  probation  ended.  There  was  no 
longer  salvation  to  be  obtained  in  the  old  kingdom,  the  Temple 
was  henceforth  desolate,  deserted  by  its  Lord  ;  and  He  departed 
from  the  Temple  never  again  to  appear  there.  And  after  two 
days  more,  He  was  to  offer  Himself  as  the  one  Great  Sacrifice  ; 
and  the  Daily  Sacrifice  would  no  longer  be  available  for  the  true 
worship  of  God,,  or  for  man's  salvation.  The  Temple  will  be 
desolate,  until  it  is  made  a  desolation. 


278  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

It  ]ias  been  said  tliat  Christ's  discourse  has  a  seventy  and 
bitterness  unwortliy  of  a  Christian  gentlen^.an,  nmcli  less  the  Son 
of  God.  But  to  judge  it  correctly,  the  times  and  circumstances 
M'hich  called  for  it  nrust  be  considered,  and  the  provocation  and 
aim  in  view;  and  then,  so  far  from  being  censurable,  it  was  b(.ith 
merciful  and  commendable. 

Our  Lord  had  been  three  years  warning  and  lovingly  mani- 
festing His  Divine  power,  and  calling  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
to  believe  in  Him,  to  repent,  and  be  sivcd;  and  He  had  shown 
them  by  His  benevolence,  and  humility,  and  lioly  life,  that  He 
was  more  than  any  man  they  had  ever  known,  or  heard  of.  Yet 
they  had  reviled  Him,  accused  Him  of  blasphemy,  of  having  a 
devil,  and  being  in  league  with  the  devil,  and  casting  out  devils 
by  tlie  Prince  of  Devils;  thus  making  themselves  witnesses  that 
He  did  cast  them  out.  And  all  this  time  they  had  seen  His  self- 
lestraint;  and  that  while  He  had  it  in  His  power  to  injure  or 
destroy  them,  He  did  not,  until  tliey  had  tilled  up  tlie  measure 
of  their  wickedness,  had  sinned  away  their  day  of  grace.  And  as 
He  was  that  day  to  end  His  mission  to  the  nation,  nothing  else 
remained  to  be  done  but  to  tell  them  truths  they  did  not  and 
could  not  deny;  and  of  the  destruction  they  were  bringing  on  the 
n^ition,  and  the  eternal  punishment  on  themselves. 

But  they  were  uttiei-ly  rejjrobate;  that  awful  discourse,  which 
it  would  seem  were  enough  to  arouse  them  from  their  unbel%f, 
niî^e  no  impression  on  their  adamant  hearts;  they  had  slmt  up 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven  from  themselves  and  others,  and  notliing 
remained  for  Him  but  to  pronounce  their  doom. 

And  there  was  also  a  lesson  there  for  His  disciples,  'and  for 
all  mankind  to  the  world's  end.  Those  woe&  are  yet  sounding 
down  the  Christian  centuries,  a  Prophecy  .yet;  a  standing  memo- 
rial to  their  descendants  of  the  consequences  of  their  ancestors' 
unbelief,  and  persecution,  and  killing  of  the  Land)  of  God — and 
the  Saviour  of  the  world;  and  as  a  warning  to  all  mankind  of 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  279 

the  future  eternal  penalty  which  awaits  all  who  reject  Him  now, 
by  refusing  to  believe  in  Plim,  and  obey  His  Gospel  and  Chnrcu. 

As  Christ  left  the  Temple,  li"ving  foretold  its  destruction, 
the  last  words  He  said  were,  "  Ye  shall  not  see  Me  hence- 
forth till  ye  sliall  say,  Blessed  is  He  who  comcth  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,"'  This  meant  that  by  His  departure  the  Temple  was 
deserted  by  the  presence  of  tlie  Lord,  no  more  sacrifice  or  ser- 
vice there  would  be  acceptable  to  Him — its  Door  of  Mercy  was 
shut. 

Yet  God's  love  and  mer^y  for  His  covenant  people  was  not 
exhausted;  out  of  this  chastisement,  and  the  perpetual  desolation 
of  the  Temple,  Christ  threw  this  rainbow  of  hope,  this  propliecy 
of  a  better  day,  wlien  they  would  hail  Him  as  "  Blessed  is  He 
who  cometh  in  tlie  name  of  the  Lord,"  and  acknowledge  Him  as 
their  own  God  and  Saviour;  when  tlie  prophecy  shall  be  fulfilled 
that  God  will  gather  the  outcasts  of  Israel  from  afar^  and  He 
will  comfort  His  people  and  have  merc}^  on  them.  And  St.  Paul 
says  this  will  bf,  by  grafting  them  back  into  Christ's  kingdom, 
whi(;h  is  the  Branch  grown  from  the  root  of  their  own  old  kino-- 
dom  of  God.  And  this  day  may  not  now  be  remote  ;  Christianity 
is  breaking  up  the  old  kingdoms  of  darkness,  it  has  emancipated 
millions  of  slaves  and  serfs  in  a  day,  it  has  lifted  up  the  whole 
aitjstratuui  of  the  common  people  to  a  condition  better  than  the 
nolilcs  before  Christ;  and  when  God  causes  it  to  take  hold  ot 
Jttdaism,  it^  return  to  His  kingdom  will  also  be  in  a  day.  Already 
we  see  its  dawn — more  real  conversions  have  been  made  in  this 
century,  probaTlly,  than  in  the  eighteen  which  preceded  it. 

That  Christ  should  have  so  taught  in  the  Temple  that  day, 
and  so  held  the  wrath  and  power  of  the  S(;ribes  and  Pharisees 
that  they  could  not  molest  nor  arrest  Him,  and  that  He  should 
have  been  permitted  to  go  away  peaceably,  is  really  as  great  a 
miracle  as  any  He  ever  wrought. 


CHAPTER   XXXVir- 


WEDNESDAY  EVENING. 


On  leaving  the  Temple  Christ  lingered  a  moment  near  the 
Treasurj^;  and  the  disciples,  remembering  His  word"  respecting 
its  destruction,  and  expressing  their  doubts,  called  His  attention 
to  its  magnificent  walls,  and  immense  foundations,  which  all 
Jews  believed  would  last  until  the  world's  end.  And  He  re- 
newed the  prophecy,  prefaced  by  His  Divine  ''I  say  unto  you," 
and  declared  its  ruin  would  be  so  entire,  that  not  one  stone 
would  be  left  on  another  ;  and  for  forty  years  tlie  Jews,  doubt- 
less, ridiculed  the  prophecy. 

Chiist  did  not  return  witli  His  disciples  to  Bethany,  as  He 
did  daily  before,  but  went  to  the  Mount  of  Olives.  And  there 
the  Apostles  asked  Him  privately,  "«^lien  tins  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem and  the  Temple  would  be;  and  Avhat  signs  would  ;  I'e- 
cede  it.  They  supposed  it  would  soon  happen  ;  and  then  the 
end  of  tlie  world  would  come,  because  they  expected  the  two 
events  w^'uld  be  contemporaneous. 

Three  Evangelists  recoj-ded  this  solemn  discourse,  and  each 
one  relates  some  particular  omitted  by  the  others  ;  because  His 
answer  to  tlieir  question  led  to  many  notable  prophecies  and  rev- 
elations, '^nd  proves  that  He  had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the 
future  rise  and  fall  of  nations,  and  of  all  political  as  well  as 


L  I  F  E    0  F    C  H  R  I  s  T  .  USl 

religious  events,  and  of  the  evils  to  come  on  the  "world  before  its 
final  catastrophe. 

Christ  said,  false  Christs  and  Prophets  would  ai-ise  to  draw 
away  disciples,  and  deceive,  if  it  were  possible,  the  elect  ;  and  there 
would  be  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  and  fearful  siglits  in  tlie 
Heavens — men's  hearts  failing  tliem  from  fear  of  things  coming 
on  the  earth,  with  earthquakes,  famines,  and  pestilence".  But  it 
has  been  said,  I^o  foreknowledge  was  needed  to  foretell  these 
things,  because  they  had  ahvays  been;  but  history  teaches  that 
tliey  were  more  terrible  before,  and  at  Jerusalem's  fall.  Tiberius 
was  banished,  Caligula  was  killed  by  conspirators,  Galba,  Otho, 
and  Yitellius  were  dethroned,  and  Nero  declared  a  public  enemy 
by  the  Senate.  And  Josephus  says:  A  flaming  meteor,  like  a  iiery 
sword,  Iiung  over  the  city  for  a  year;  and  chariots  and  armed 
soldiers  were  seen  in  the  clouds  above  the  city,  as  if  besieging  it. 

And  these  were  but  the  beginnings  of  sorrow,  the  prelude 
to  the  terrible  catastrophe  which,  he  says,  "  exceeded  all  the 
destructions  either  God  or  man  had  ever  brouglit  on  the  world." 
This  was  to  be  the  final  death  agony  of  the  old  kmgdom,  when 
its  worship  and  daily  sacr'fice  were  to  '-ease;  and  to  leave  the 
world's  course  free  f"r  Clu-ist's  kingdom  to  run  and  be  glorified. 

Before  that,  the  Apostles  would  be  persecuted  and  brouglit 
before  kings:  St.  James  was  killed  by  Herod;  Paul,  by  JSTero: 
and  Péter  and  others  suffered  before  its  fall,  as  witnesses  for 
Christ;  and  when  the  Gospel  had  been  preached  to  all  nations, 
then  Jerusalem's  end  would  come.  St.  John  carried  it  to  Asia  ; 
Mark,  to  Africa;  Peter,  to  Babylon;  Thomas,  to  India;  Paul, 
to  Greece,  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  Great  Britain. 
They  were  commanded  not  to  fear  men,  for  the  Holy -Ghost 
would  teach  and  guide  them;  and  though  the  love  of  many 
would  wax  cold,  whoever  endured  to  the  end  would  be  saved. 

And  in  answer  to  when  this  would  be.  He  said,  "When  the 
abomination  of  desolation  foretold  by  Daniel  appeared  before  the 


282  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

city,  tlien  His  disciples  must  flee  from  it.  "  That  was,  the  eagles 
on  the  Roman  banners,  which  the  soldiers  sacriliced  to  and  wor- 
shipped as  eml^lems  of  the  Emperors.  Then  they  must  not  delay, 
for  it  would  be  a  time  of  woe  such  as  the  world  had  never  before 
seen;  and  the  proverb,  "Where  the  carcass  is,  the  eagles  will 
gather,"  referred  to  the  desolation  of  Jerusalem,  and  tlie  end  of 
the  world.  For  the  eagles  were  also  symbols  of  the  evil  angels, 
who  will  conduct  tlie  wicked  to  Hell,  wliere  the  evil  days  for 
tiiem  never  Avill  be  sliortened. 

Those  prophecies  were  made  to  correct  the  false  opinions  of 
the  Apostles,  that  tlie  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  end  of  the 
world  would  be  siinulttineous.  And  He  told  them  before  the 
latter  event  the  sun  wouhl  be  darkened,  the  moon  withdraw  her 
liglit,  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens  Ije  sliaken;  and  His  second 
coming  wonld  be  like  the  blazing  of  lightening  across  the  hori- 
zon; and  in  a  time  of  great  enlightenment  and  immorality,  then 
the  end  would  come. 

The  Sun  represents  the  Son  of  Man,  the  Sun  of  Kighteons- 
ness;  the  Moon  is  His  Clnirch;  and  the  Stars,  great  national 
Churches.  The  dai-kness  began  in  the  denial  of  Christ's  Divinity 
among  the  Gentiles,  the  corruption  of  tlie  Catholic  Churcli  and 
its  divisions,  and  the  fall  of  national  Ciun-ciies  in  Asia  and  Africa, 
even  before  St.  John's  death.  Tlie  powers  of  tlie  heavens  wa8 
the  Divine  grace,  which  was  seen  in  the  Chiinjli  before  its  cori-iip- 
tion  and  division,  that  has  been  shaken;  and  the  result  is — tliat 
weltering  sea  of  a.  divided  Christendom,  and  the  turl)ulent  swel- 
lings  of  the  numerous  and  ever  increasing  divisions,  having  the 
form  ol  Christ's  righteousness  without  its  power,  that  has  nearly 
girdled  the  earth. 

Tlie  day  of  vengence  came,  and  the  prophecy  was  literally 
fulfilled.  The  western  world  Was  astonished  at  the  report,  and 
to  this  day  the  siege  and  desti'uction  of  Jerusalem  is  unparal 
^eled  in  history.    When  the  soldiers  entered  the  city,  they  found 


LIFE    OF    C  H  HIST.  282 

the  streets  filled  with  piles  of  festering  dead  bodies — and  they 
slew  men,  women,  and  f.hildren  nntil  tlie  i^ntters  ran  with  blood; 
and  entering  the  Temj)le,  six  thousand  yet  alive  v/ere  killed,  and 
the  blood  of  the  priests  and  people  mingled  together;  the 
Temple  was  fired,  and  made  a  ghastly  ruin  of  burning  embers 
and  smoking  bodies;  its  foundations  were  dug  up,  and  the  walls 
of  the  city,  except  at  the  west,  were  torn  down;  pestilence,  fam- 
ine, and  robbery  followed,  but  for  which  the  exasperated  conquer- 
ors would  have  carried  slaughter  to  the  Christians,  who  remem- 
bered Christ's  prophecy,  and  wdien  the  siege  began  escaped  to 
Perea.  For  their  sakes  the  days  of  terror  wei'e  shortened;  but 
not  until  the  blood  of  all  the  martyrs,  from  Abel  to  Christ,  was 
avenged  by  God,  for  whom  they  suiïered  for  righteousness  sake. 
And  now  the  city  looks  old  and  decayed,  and  its  lines  and  walls 
are  hardly  any  where  identical  with  those  Christ  saw  ;  the  houses 
are  old  and  miserable,  the  streets  are  filthy,  the  pavements  brok- 
en and  trodden  down  by  the  Gentiles,  and  look  as  if  Christ's 
woes  yet  rested  on  it. 

Finally,  telling  them  that  some  of  that  generation  would  live 
to  see  His  predictions  on  Jerusalem  fulfilled,  He  closed  His  pro- 
phetical vision,  saying  the  Gospel  would  be  a  second  time 
preached  over  all  the  world  ;  then  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man 
would  be  seen  coming  on  the  clouds  of  Se^i^n,  witji  His  angels, 
to  summcns  the  dead  aQd  judge  them.  But  of  il-iat  day  and  lioiir 
neither  the  angels,  nor  He,  as  the  Son  of.  -Man,  knew.  Eut  the 
condition  of  the  woïld  woukl  be  the  same  ffg.it  was  in  the  davs  of 
Noah — men  eating,  ^and  drinking,  and  Knaî-rying,  and  giving  in 
marriage — angodl}',  and  con-upt,  until  the  flood  came  and  swept 
them  away.  Such  was  the  case,  when  Jerusalem  fell;  and  such 
will  it  be  the  tlfird  time,  when  Christ  comes  to  judge  the  world. 

Meanwhile,  His  disciples  must  watch  and  pray,  during  His 
absence  into  the  far  country;  lest  coming  suddenly  He  find  them 
sleepi;;g,  "for  in  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not  the  Son  of  Man 


284  LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  ^ 

cometli."  x\nd  faitliful  servants  sliall  be  made  rnlers  over 
many  things;  ami  the  unfaithful  shall  have  their  portion 
with  the  liypocrites,  where  there  will  be  wailing  and  gnashing 
of  teetli. 

Christ,  yet  alone  with  the  Apostles  in  the  darkness  and  soli- 
tude of  night  in  the  Mount  of  Olives,  continued  His  personal 
instruction  to  them,  on  the  responsibility  to  devolve  on  them  as 
the  Rulers  of  His  Cliurch,  whicli  was  also  for  their  successors  to 
the  world's  end,  in  the  Parable  of  tlie  Ten  Virgins  and  Ten 
Talents;  and  it  was  His  last  teaching  respecting  His  kingdom. 

He  likened  the  universal  Church  to  the  kingdom  of  Heaven, 
and  illustrated  His  meaning  l)y  the  wise  and  foolish  vij-gins. 
The  vessels  are  their  bodies,  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  tlie 
lamps  are  their  visible  righteousness;  tlie  oil  is  the  Holy  Spirit, 
received  through  His  regenerating  and  sanctifying  influences; 
and  the  time  of  waiting  for  the  Bridegroom  is  tlie  interval  be- 
tween Christ's  departure  from  the  world,  and  returning  to  receive 
the  Church  as  His  Bride. 

At  midnight  the  trump  of  the  Arch- Angel  will  announce 
His  coming,  and  the  end  of  the  woild;  and  the  going  out  to 
meet  Him,  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead;  the  taking  of  their 
lamps  and  trimming  them,  is  the  test  of  their  righteousness;  tlie 
wise  virgins  have  oil  in  their  lamps  and  vessels,  but  the  foolish 
virgins'  lamps  go  out — there  is  no  oil  in  their  vessels;  they  have 
received  the  grace  of  God  in  vain.  They  are  then  prompt  in 
going  to  buy,  but  it  was  too  late  !  And  when  they  returned  the 
door  was  shut,  and  the  Bridegroom  knew  them  not.  They  asked 
to  borrow  oil  of  the  saints  whose  lamps  burned  ;  but  they  had 
no  su})erfluous  stock  to  supply  their  neglect — not  enough  for  us 
and  for  you — and  they  remained  in  the  outer  darkness. 

Then  He  spake  the  Parable  of  the  Talents.  This  is  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  the  former,  only  repeated  in  another 
figure  more  easily  understood.    The  talents  are  called  the  Lord's 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  285^ 

money  ;  and  so,  like  the  oil,  signify  the  grace  of  God  committed 
to  His  ministers  and  people. 

And  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  Christ's  Chnrcli,  travelling 
into  a  far  country,  down  the  course  of  time;  in  that,  each  mem- 
ber has  a  trust  of  one,  two,  or  ten  talents,  according  to  the 
measure  of  God's  gifts,  which  he  must  use  to  increase  his  riglit- 
eousness,  and  finally  render  an  account  of.  The  man  with  one 
talent  may  have  the  approving  sentence,  "  Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servant,"  and  the  reward  of  eternal  life,  by  wisely  using 
it,  as  well  as  others  with  five  or  ten  talents;  and  tlie  warning  is 
to  do  duty  faithfully  in  whatever  state  of  life  God  puts  us,  or 
use  whatever  measure  of  spiritual  grace  we  have  to  tlie  best  of 
our  ability  ;  then  we  shall  be  sure  of  entering  into  the  joy  of  our 
Lord,  and  having  eternal  trusts  of  our  own,  in  our  future  life, 
when  He  returns  to  reckon  with  us.  And  if  we  fail  to  do  so — 
this  was  the  warning  to  the  Apostles,  to  the  Christian  ministry, 
and  to  every  member  of  His  Church — then  the  sentence  will  be 
be,  "Cast  ye  the  unprofitable  servant  into  outer  darkness;  there 
shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth." 

And  then,  as  if  in  a  fuller  explanation  of  the  two  Parables 
respecting  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  He  concluded  His  solemn 
discourse  with  His  Apostles  by  telling  them  that  the  Son  of  Man 
will  then  come  in  His  glory,  with  all  tlie  holy  angels  with  Him; 
and  He  will  sit  on  the  throne  of  His  glory,  and  all  nations  shall 
be  assembled  before  Him;  and  He  will  set  the  sheep  on  His 
right  hand,  and  the  goats  on  the  left;  and  then  He  speaks  of 
Himself  as  the  King  of  the  Kingdo,m,  King  and  Judge.  "He 
will  say  to  those  on  the  right  hand,  come  ye  blessed  of  My 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world:  for  I  was  hungrj^,  and  ye  gave  Me  meat; 
thirsty,  and  ye  gave  Me  drink;  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  Me  in;  I 
was  sick,  and  ye  visited  Me;  and  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto 
Me."     The  wicked  are  charged  with  neglecting  these  duties,  and 


286'  LIVE    OF    C  II  RI  3  T. 

His  sentence  is,  "These  sliall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment, 1»ut  the  riglitcuus  into  life  eternal." 

The  last  marvel  of  the  Parable  is,  that  Christ  takes  tlie  least 
evil  clone  to  His  disciples  as  done  to  Himself;  that  the  good  and 
evil  reach  to  His  glorified  linnianity  in  Heaven,  and  the  rewards 
and  punishments  will  be  eternal.  It  was  so,  under  the  former 
dispensation:  to  touch  prophet  or  priest,  was  to  touch  God 
Himself;  and  that  is  the  reason  whj»  the  penalty  is  so  terrible, 
and  why  the  world's  destruction  will  be,  and  Hell  is,  so  terrific. 

But  it  is  said  this  term  "  everlasting  "  is  applied  to  mountains, 
and  other  things  in  the  Bible  which  are  not  eternal  ;  and,  there- 
fore, it  may  be  figurative  respecting  Hell.  The  meaning  of 
Scripture  can  be  understood  only  by  the  context;  if  tlie  punisli- 
ment  of  Hell  may  not  be  eternal,  then  the  reward  of  Heaven 
may  not  be;  the  same  words  are  used  for  both.  Then  eternal  life 
may  come  to  an  end  ;  God  is  said  to  be  the  everlasting  God,  and 
then  He  may  come  to  an  end.  The  whole  drift  of  revelation  is 
against  such  an  interpretation;  and  the  eternal  moral  govern- 
ment of  God  requires  that  Heaven  and  Hell  be  eternal.  The 
Greek  aionois  applied  to  temporal  things  means  lasting,  until 
the  end  of  time;  but  applied  to  spiritual  things,  means  as  lasting 
as  God  and  eternity:  and  the  context  always  shows  which  mean 
ing  it  has. 

Christ  first  taught  future  rewards  and  punishments,  as  mo- 
tives to  influence  mens'  conduct,  and  declared  that  they  M'ould 
be  eternal  in  Heaven,  or  Hell  ;  and  His  words  are  positive  that 
the  latter  will  be  in  unquenchable  fire.  It  may  be  spiritual  fire, 
as  it  is  to  he,  suffered  in  a  spiritual  body — a  torture  to  that  as 
intolerable  as  fire  here  to  a  physical  body  ;  even  if  the  fire  be 
figurative,  it  represents  eternal  and  intolerable  anguish. 

But  it  is  urged  God  is  good,  and  cannot  punish  eternally 
temporal  sin.  No,  He  will  not;  and  Christ  never  said  He  would. 
But  the  wicked  will  go  into  eternal  punishment,  because  they  are 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  287 

wî(;kecl,  for  the  character  they  formed  lierc  as  enemies  of  God 
and  sinners.  Sin  lias  in  itself  a  self-inflicting  suffering — they 
will  sin  there;  because,  if  the  love  and  mercy  of  God  will  not 
make  them  repent  here,  Ilis  justice  and  punishment  will  not 
there.  And  if  they  could  repent,  there  will  be  no  Redeemer  to 
s;rve  them,  because  Christ's  mediatorial  work  will  have  come  to 
an  end;  and  sinning,  sin  will  inflict  its  penalty — the  second 
death — suffering  with  no  last  pang  to  end  it. 

Men  do  not  consider  it  unjust  to  inflict  death  here,  or  im- 
prisonment for  life,  on  the  guilty  and  incorrigible;  because  it 
promotes  the  security  and  happiness  of  the  majority,  and  the 
stability  of  government.  It  would  be  an  impei-fect  government 
that  did  not  punish  rebels  ;  and  if  God  can  endure  the  loss  of 
His  children  from  Heaven,  when  we  know  His  reasons  for  eter- 
nal punishment,  we  would  not  have  it  otherwise  if  we  could. 

If  it  were  possible  for  His  justice  to  remit  from  His  foes, 
it  would  be  possible  for  His  mercy  to  His  friends  to  end  ;  and 
that  would  destroy  our  ideas  of  His  immutability,  and  the  joy  of 
Heaven.  All  Christ  said  respecting  earthly  tilings,  was  true; 
why  should  we  doulit  His  word,  respecting  spiritual  things?  If 
He  were  not  God  He  could  not  have  known  these  things;  and  it 
is  more  difficult  to  believe  that  He  invented  such  doctrines,  than 
to  believe  they  are  true.  It  is  because  He  is  a  loving  God  and 
Saviour,  that  He  revealed  the  one  for  our  warning,  and  the 
other  for  our  encouragement. 


CHAPTER    XXXVm 


THE   LAST   PASSOVER. 


When  Christ  had  explained  to  the  disciples  the  prophecy 
concerning  Jerusalem  and  the  end  of  the  world,  He  said,  "  After 
two  days  is  the  Feast  of  the  Passover,  and  the  Son  of  Man  is  be- 
trayed to  be  crucified;"  and  notlung  now  remained  l)ut  to  give 
the  last  instruction  to  the  Apostles,  to  comfort  them  resjiccting 
His  departure,  to  celebrate  the  last  Pascal  Supper,  and  institute 
His  Sacramental  Supper  thereon. 

It  was  impossible,  that  the  rebukes  and  woes  Christ  pro- 
nounced on  the  Rulers  and  Jerusalem,  and  the  way  He  con- 
founded them  before  the  people  yesterday,  should  not  have 
excited  their  wrath  ;  and  He  had  reserved  the  denunciation  to 
that  day,  in  order  tliat  they  might  have  exactly  time  enough  to 
arrest  and  try  Him,  that  He  might  be  crucified  two  days  after, 
at  tlie  cime  of  the  killing  of  the  last  Pascal  Lamb  ever  accep- 
tably offered  to  God. 

And  we  see,  that  all  the  preparations  were  controlled  by 
Him  ;  for,  while  He  was  telling  His  disciples  of  His  coming 
death,  the  Cliief  Priests  and  Rulers  called  a  Council  in  the 
palace  of  Caiaphas,  and  consulted  how  they  miglit  take  Him, 
and  by  subtlety  put  Him  to  death.  And  lo  !  while  they  were 
assembled,  Judas  had  stolen  away  in  the  darkness,  to  the  Coun- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  289 

cil,  and  bargained  to  deliver  Ilim  to  them  for  thirty  pieces  of 
silver;  and  they  dismissed  the  plan  of  private  murder,  and  from 
that  time,  "he  sought  opportunity  to  betray  Him," 

Nothing  more  is  related  of  the  transactions  that  night  in 
the  Mount,  nor  the  doings  of  the  next  day  until  towards  evening; 
and  it  looks  as  if  the  Apostle  did  not  know  how,  or  where, 
Christ  spent  the  interval.  It  donl)tless  was  alone,  in  prayer, 
gathering  strength  and  courage  for  the  appalling  scenes  ])efore 
Him  ;  and  He  could  not  appear  publicly,  witliout  being  arrested 
before  He  was  ready  to  deliver  Himself. 

An  awful  silence  and  mystery  hang  over  Thursday,  until 
towards  evening,  like  the  stillness  which  precedes  some  great 
convulsion  in  nature — as  there  was  the  next  day  when,  as  [Nature's 
God,  He  suifered.  But  towards  evening  the  veil  lifts,  and  two 
disciples  come  to  Christ,  and  ask,  "  Where  wilt  Thou  that 
we  ^prepare  for  Thee  to  eat  the  Passover  ?  "  It  would  be  most 
likely  that  He  would  say,  with  Simon  at  Bethany;  but  no,  they 
must  go  to  Jerusalem.  He  would  show  them  that  His  enemies, 
who  were  seeking  His  life,  could  not  touch  Him  until  His  pre- 
parations to  die  were  made;  and  He  told  them,  that  there  they 
would  meet  a  man  bearing  a  pitcher  of  water,  to  follow  h.im, 
and  tell  him,  the  Master  will  eat  the  Passover  with  His  disciples 
at  his  house;  and  he  will  show  them  his  guest  chambei-,  and  there 
they  must  make  ready.  They  went  and  found  it  as  He  said,  and 
prepared  the  Passover. 

The  Jews  ate  their  Pascal  Lamb  on  the  fourteenth  day  of 
the  Month  Nisan,  which  day  was  our  Saturday  ;  but  killed  it  the 
erening  before  at  three  o'clock,  and  Christ  celebrated  His  Pas- 
sover Thursday  night,  that  He  might  be  crucified  the  next  eve- 
ning at  the  hour  when  the  Jews  killed  their  Pascal  Lamb.  And 
as  He  amuilled  the  old  Sabbath,  by  transferring  it  to  the  origi- 
nal seventh  day,  the  Cliristian  first  day — so  also. He  abolished 
the  old  Passover,  by  keeping  it  the  day  before  its  institution, 

1» 


290  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

and  founding  His  Sacramental  Supper  on  it,  and  to  take  itâ 
place  in  His  kint^dom;  for  He  said  He  would  drink  no  more  of 
it,  until  He  received  it  new  in  His  kingdom. 

Wlien  the  hour  was  come,  Jesus  sat  down  with  the  twelve. 
He  had  told  the  eleven  that  Judas  had  betrayed  Him  ;  but  he 
came  with  the  others;  and  Christ's  first  words  evinced  tliat  He 
knew  the  significancy  of  this  a(;t.  "With  desire  I  liave  desired  . 
to  eat  this  Passover  with  you  before  I  suffer  ;  for  I  say  unto  you 
I  will  not  any  more  eat  thereof,  until  it  be  fulfilled  in  the  king- 
dom of  God." 

For  fifteen  centuries  the  Passover  had  been  a  type  of  Christ, 
and  the  germ  which  would  develop  into  a  sacrament  for  His 
kingdom  ;  and  on  that  last  celel)ration  He  transferred  and  trans- 
muted it  into  the  Blessed  Sacrament  of  His  body  and  blood,  as 
the  true  Pascal  Lamb  of  God — by  His  consecration  of  the  ele- 
ments, and  changing  them  from  a  Sacrificial  to  a  Sacrtimental 
character — so  as  to  convey  all  the  benefits  of  His  Sacrifice  to  the 
worthy  receivers,  and  help  it  to  fit  them  for  an  inheritance  in  the 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven. 

Tlie  kingdom  of  God  had  been  at  hand  ever  since  the  Bap- 
tist began  his  ministry;  and  now,  it  was  to  come.  Cln-ist  would 
eat  it  no  more  as  the  Passover  of  the  old  kingdom,  until  the 
new  kingdom  had  come;  tlie  true  Lamb  of  God  was  about  to  l)e 
offered  on  the  cross,  then  the  veil  of  the  Temple  would  rend, 
and  the  Ceremonial  Law  would  end,  and  the  Gospel  and  the 
kingdom  be  prepared  when  the  Holy  Gliost  came  from  Heaven 
to  inspire  the  Apostles,  and  empower  them  to  begin  the  kingdom. 
On  the  morrow  the  Lamb  of  God  was  to  pass  over  the  Red 
Sea  of  His  own  blood;  and  the  old  covenant — ratified  witli  the 
blood  of  animals  and  man,  wliich  typified  Christ's  blood — was  to 
end,  and  the  new  covenant  in  His  blood  would  begin;  and  tho 
old  kingdom  would  die  in  Him,  and  pass  over  to  tlie  whole 
world — Jew  and  Gentile.     And  the  Daily  Sacrifice  and  Yearly 


LIFE    OF    CHRffeT.  291 

Passover  would  be  clianged  for  the  Sacrament  of  His  Body  and 
Blood,  in  remembrance  of  Him,  that  He  ]iad  given  His  life  to 
take  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  convey  that  righteousneiLS 
which  is  by  faith  in  Him. 

The  Supper  being  ended,  Christ  laid  aside  His  garments, 
girded  Himself  with  a  towel,  poured  water  into  a  basin,  and 
began  to  wash  His  disciples'  feet,  as  an  example  of  humility, 
and,  doubtless,  a  symbol  of  the  washing  of  regeneration;  be- 
cause, when  Feter  said,  "Thou  shalt  never  wash  my  feet,"  Christ 
answered,  "  If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  with  Me," 

And  Christ  renewed  the  warning  to  Judas,  ''Ye  are  not  all 
clean,"  though  his  feet  were  washed;  and  it  was  a  warning  to 
all  His  disciples,  that  the  washing  of  regeneration  will  not  save 
without  a  righteous  life.  Then  Christ  resumed  His  seat  at  the 
taflle,  saying,  that  He  had  given  them  an  example  as  their  Lord 
and  Master;  "and  ye  also  ought  to  wash  one  another's  feet." 

The  Pascal  Supper  had  three  courses,  in  which  were  mystic- 
ally enclosed  the  germ  of  the  Christian  Sacraments:  first,  a  cup 
of  wine  taken  w^ith  bitter  herbs  in  a  sauce  made  for  the  occasion, 
prefiguring  the  humbling  dipping,  or  washing  of  baptism  ;  second, 
a  cup  of  wine,  with  unleavened  bread,  to  be  drunk  with  the  lamb 
— the  elements  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament;  and  a  cup  of  blessing, 
and  a  Psalm  ended  the  repast.  It  was  this  Sacramental  Yiaticum 
Christ  received,  as  the  support  for  His  human  nature  across  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  ;  and  which  He  blessed  and  gave 
to  the  disciples  as  a  perpetual  remembrance  of  Him,  and  to  be 
celebrated  until  His  return  from  the  far  country  He  was  going 
to,  and  as  the  abrogation  of  the  whole  ceremonial  law. 

Christ  blessed  the  bread,  and  brake  it,  and  gave  it  to  the 
disciples,  saying,  "This  is  My  body  which  is  given  for  you;" 
not  the  body  present,  for  it  was  not  yet  ofPered  in  sacrifice.  But 
it  was  the  foregiving  of  His  flesh,  after  a  spiritual  manner,  as  it 
was  ever  after  to  be  given  to  His  disciples:  "Do  this  in  remem- 


292  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

brancc  of  Me."  But  in  giving  tlie  Cup,  lie  said,  "Tliis  Cup  is 
the  New  Covenant  in  My  Blood,  that  is  shed  fur  you,  and  for 
many,  for  the  remission  of  sins" — which  implies  that  baptism  is 
not  pei-fected  until  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  received;  and  that 
the  bread  alone  without  the  wine  is  no  Sacrament,  and  gives 
no  assurance  that  the  baptismal  covensint  is  ratified.  Thus  tl>e 
Christian  Sacraments  Avere  designed  to  convey  Christ's  spiritual 
life,  to  keep  in  remembrance  His  Sacrifice  until  He  comes  again 
in  the  glory  of  the  Godhead. 

The  Sacrament  does  what  Sacrifice  could  not — gives  the  life 
of  the  Sacrificed  Lamb  of  God  to  the  worthy  receiver,  so  that  it 
becomes  a  living  spiritual  force  in  him;  as  He  said,  "He  that 
eateth  My  body,  and  drinketh  my  blood,  hath  eternal  life;  and 
even  he  shall  live  by  Me."  Eternal  life  is  more  than  immortality; 
sinners,  as  well  as  saints,  will  rise  from  the  dead  immortal,  be- 
cause of  Christ's  resnrrection.  But  the  eternal  life  He  promised, 
is  one  of  eternal  glory,  with  God,  our  Father,  in  Heaven. 

The  Son  of  God  was  incarnate  in  our  nature,  to  institute 
the  Sacraments  to  make  us  partakers  of  His  Divine  Nature;  and 
tliey  sow  in  our  bodies  spiritual  life,  as  tlie  means  to  overcome 
evil  in  ourselves  and  the  world,  and  attpjn  a  glorious  I'esnrrec- 
tion.  And  the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist  is  one  of  the  rich- 
est means  of  grace,  and  tlie  most  exalted  worship  we  can  render 
Him. 

Then  He  said,  "Now  I  tell  you  before  it  come  to  pass,  thnt 
when  it  is  come  to  pass,  ye  may  believe  that  I  am  He."  And,  as 
if  M-eighed  with  sorrow,  as  much  for  Judas  as  for  Himself,  He 
said  His  spirit  was  troubled  ;  and,  as  His  last  warning  to  Judas, 
He  said,  "  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  yon,  one  of  you  shall  betray 
Me."  Each  disciple  anxiously  asks,  "Is  it  I?"  until  Judas'  turn, 
and  to  his  question  Christ  answered,  "Thou  hast  said."  The 
Eleven  did  not  understand  the  reply;  and  St.  Peter  asked  St. 
John — who  was  reclining  so  that  his  head  was  near  our  Lord's 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  293 

breast — and  he  asked  Ilim;  and  was  told,  "He  to  whom  1 
give  the  sop" — a  bit  of  bread  dipped  in  the  Pascal  sauce.  And 
He  gave  it  to  Judas,  saying,  "What  tliou  doest,  do  quickly;" 
it  was  again  night,  and  he  went  away  in  its  darkness  to  the 
Council. 

The  Passover  was  the  root  of  Clirist's  two  Sacraments, 
and  foreshadov/ed  the  regeneration  and  sanctification  to  come 
by  them.  The  flesh,  and  bread,  and  wine,  gave  vigor  to  man's 
soul;  but  His  consecration  made  them  convey  strength  and  re- 
freshment to  the  spirit,  and  make  it  partaker  of  His  rio'hteous- 
ness,  and  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven. 

Christ's  consecration  of  the  Bread  and  Wine  chano-ed  them 
from  a  Sacrificial  to  a  Sacramental  nature;  while  they  remained 
bread  and  wine,  tliey  had  a  Spiritual  grace  added  to  them  ;  and 
analogy  teaches  how  it  was,  and  is,  done.  One  of  Christ's  titles 
is  the  Sun  of  Righteousness — and  He  transfuses  the  elements 
with  His  i-ighteousness,  so  that  it  can  be  conveyed  to  the  re- 
ceiver; just  as  bread  and  wine  exposed  to  the  Sun's  rays  receive 
caloric  from  tliem.  The  bread  and  wine  are  not  chano-ed  but 
a  new  principle  is  added — and  we  feel  the  heat  in  them;  and  how 
much  more  surely  can  Christ  convey  Spiritual  blessings  in  a  sim- 
ilar way,  and  all  the  benefits  of  His  Sacrifice. 

By  the  Sacrifices  of  tlie  ancient  Church,  tlie  death  of  CJirist 
was  prefigured  to  the  w'orld  for  four  thousand  years,  to  prepare 
the  way  for  His  coming;  and  for  fifteen  hundred  years  the  Pas- 
cal Supper  was  partly  Sacrificial  and  partly  Sacramental — tlie 
beginning  of  the  development  of  Sacrifice  into  Sacrament,  as  it 
was  fulfilled  and  perfected  by  Christ  on  this  last  celebration. 
The  Blessed  Sacrament  grew  out  of  the  Pascal  Feast,  and  was 
engrafted  on  its  root,  and  superceded  it  ;  and  as  the  Pascal  Lamb 
was  slain  to  keep  in  remembrance  that  Christ  would  come  to  die 
so  also  was  the  Blessed  Sacrament  instituted  to  keep  in  remem- 
brau'-e  tiiat  He  did  come  and  die  for  us  men  and  our  salvation. 


294 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 


And  the  breaking  of  the  BrCcad  and  pouring  of  the  "Wine,  are 
the  memorials  of  His  Body  broken,  and  Bh>od  shed,  by  which 
His  Church  -was  to  show  forth  His  death,  and  receive  tlie  bene- 
fits of  His  Sacrifice,  and  prepare  the  world  for  His  second  coming. 


^  e. 


3-~«  H 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


CHRIST'S  DISCOURSE  WITH  THE  ELEVEN. 


When  Judas  had  gone,  Clirist  said  to  the  eleven  Apostles, 
"Now  is  tlie  Sun  of  Man  glorified,  and  God  is  glorified  in  Him. 
If  God  be  glorified  in  Him,  God  shall  glorify  Him  in  Himself, 
and  shall  straightway  glorify  Him" — \\ords  incomprehensible  to 
them  then;  but  showing  that  He  knew  His  hnman  nature  was 
going  to  be  glorified  in  the  Godhead,  and  that  His  death  would 
cause  the  final  destruction  of  Satan's  power. 

Such  language  was  impossible,  unless  Christ  were  the  Son 
of  God,  the  second  person  of  the  Godhead;  and  imless  He  were 
the  Son  of  Man,  going  to  God  would  give  Him  no  new  glory. 
And  He  said,  "  A  little  while  I  am  with  you  (before  another 
sunset  He  would  be  gone)  ;  a  new  connnandment  I  give  unto 
you,  that  ye  love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you.  Ly  tliis, 
shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  My  disciples." 

Peter  inquired,  "  Lord,  whither  gocst  Thou  ?  "  And  Ho  said, 
"Whither  I  go  thou  can'st  not  follow^  Me  now;  but  thou  slialt 
follow^  Me  afterwards."  Peter  replied,  "  I  will  lay  down  my  life 
f  or  TJjy  sake  ;  "  but  He  replied,  with  His  Divine  "I  say  unto 
you,"  "Before  the  cock  crow  twice,  thou  shalt  deny  Me  thrice. 
And  Satan  has  desired  to  have  and  sift  tliee  as  wheat;  but  I  have 
prayed  for  thee  that  thy  faith  fail  not;  and  when  thou  art  con- 


296  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

I 

I 
verted,  strengthen  tliy  l^retlircn."    TJi;it  lie  did,  after  liis  conver- 
sion ironi  liis  denial  of  Him,  bj  liis  tears  and  re}  ontance  of  his 
sin.     And   in  these  ways  Christ  showed  tliat  lie  knew  the  de- 
tails of  all  the  events  about  to  transpire. 

And,  although  His  own  spirit  was  troubled  at  the  foresight 
of  the  desertion  and  denial  of  His  Apostles,  He  comforted  them 
by  the  assurance  that  He  was  going  to  the  Father  in  Heaven;  to 
prepare  places  for  them,  and  He  woidd  return  and  take  them 
with  Him  to  abide  forever.  Was  there  ever  any  such  liuman 
love  and  forbea]-ance?  His  divine  love  rose,  as  their  poor,  hu- 
man love  was  about  to  fail;  and  wlicu  Tlion:as  said,  "AVe  know 
not  whither  Tliou  goest,  and  how  can  we  know  tlie  way^' 
Cln-ist  answered,  "I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life;  no 
man  conieth  to  the  Father  but  by  Me."  And  He  is  yet  the 
AVa}',  l)y  His  holy  example;  the  Truth,  by  His  Gospel;  and  the 
Life,  by  the  sacraments  of  His  body,  the  Church.  And  He 
said,  ••'  If  ye  had  known  Me,  ye  sliould  have  known  My  Father 
also;  a)id  from  henceforth  ye  know  Him,  and  have  see,n  Him." 

AYe  see  how  imperfect  the  knowledge  and  understanding  of 
the  Apostles  were;  for  PJjilip  said,  "Lord,  show  us  tlie  Father 
and  it  sutiiceth  us."  And  this  drew  from  Him  the  confession, 
"He  who  hath  seen  Me,  hath  seen  the  Father;"  and  He  re- 
proved their  dulness,  saying,  "Bclievest  thou  not  that  I  am  in 
the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me?"  And  He  declared  that 
His  W(jrds  and  works  were  by  the  life  of  the  Father  in  Him, 
and  they  must  believe  it. 

That  dulness  looks  strange  to  us;  but  it  was  impossible 
for  them  to  believe  in  Him  as  a  Person  of  the  Godhead,  while 
they  retained  their  Jewish  ideas  of  God,  and  u  til  the  Holy 
Ghost  came  to  enlighten  them.  But  Christ  promised,  "Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  lie  who  will  believe  shall  do  greater 
works,  because  I  go  unto  the  Father."  AVas  that  a  vain  boast? 
Did  those  Apostles,  who  afterwards  believed,  do  greater  works  2 


^-  LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  297 

Yes;  they  laid  the  foundations  of  His  kingxlom.  Christ 
never  made  disciples  out  of  Palestine;  they  planted  Churches, 
and  carried  the  Gospel  over  all  tiie  then  known  world.  And 
Chrifctendom  is  a  greater  work  than  all  Christ's  miracles,  except 
the  great  one  of  man's  redemption. 

And  He  promised  that  Mdiatsoever  they  asked  the  Fathei 
in  His  name  "That  will  I  do."  The  promise  of  power  is  to  His 
name;  and  He  knew  His  disciples  would  not  ask  for  what  He 
would  not  approve;  and  the  Father  will  give  you  another  Com- 
forter who  will  abide  with  you  forever.  Here  the  mystery  of 
the  Holy  Trinity  was  revealed — the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Comforter,  whom  the  world  cannot  receive;  but  He  shall  be  in 
you,  and  dwell  in  you,  and  guide  you  into  all  truth.  And  the 
ministrations  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  through  Christ's  ministers,  are 
greater  works  than  Christ's  miracles;  because  there  is  no  visible 
presence  or  voice  in  His  operations  for  our  regeneration  and 
sanctiUcation. 

And  this  great  mystery  was  revealed,  that  Christ  would 
return  in  the  Comforter:  "I  will  come  to  you.  Yet  a  little 
while,  and  the  world  seeth  Me  no  more;  Init  ye  see  Me:  because 
I  live,  ye  shall  live  also;"  and  then  they  should  know  that  He 
and  the  Father  are  one,  and  "ye  are  in  Me  and  I  in  you."  And 
had  this  promise  not  proved  true,  faith  in  Christ  would  have 
soon  perished. 

And  Jude  asked,  how  He  would  manifest  Himself  to  them, 
and  not  to  the  world  ?  And  He  answered,  "My  Father  will  love 
him  (wdio  loves  Him  and  obeys  His  Word)  and  We  will  come 
unto  Him,  and  make  our  abode  with  Him  ;  "  and  when  the  Com- 
forter comes — whom  He  now  says  is  the  Holy  Spirit — He  will 
bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance;  and  had  not  this  proved 
true,  there  would  luive  been  no  written  New  Testament,  no 
Christian  Church,  no  Christian  ministers;  and  all  Christ  did 
would  have  made  no  lasting  impression  in  the  world. 


298  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Again,  He  promised  to  give  His  disciples  "My  Peace;" 
siicli  as  they  saw  nothing  earthly  could  disturb.  And,  therefore, 
their  liearts  need  not  be  troubled  nor  afraid,  at  whatever  was  to 
l)efall  Him,  or  them;  because  He  was  going  to  the  Father,  and 
would  return  to  them;  "If  ye  loved  me  ye  would  rejoice... for 
My  Fatlier  is  greater  than  I."  Tims  He  laid  Himself  open  to 
such  tests  as  it  was  impossible  for  tliem  to  mistake,  and  as  it 
would  be  impossible  for  Him  to  accomplish  were  He  not  God's 
incarnate  Son.  And  He  said.  He  told  them  all  these  things  be- 
fore they  came  to  pass,  "tliat  when  it  is  come  to  pass  ye  might 
])clicve."  And  the  Evangelists  testify  tliat  when  they  did  come 
to  pass,  their  faith  in  Him  was  established. 

It  looks  as  if  Clirist  used  every  means  possible  to  bo  given, 
to  prove  to  the  dij?ciples  His  Divine  Omniscience,  Omnipresence, 
:md  Onmipotence;  and  if  there  had  been  imposture  in  His  words 
or  works,  the  stupidest  of  men  could  not  have  failed  to  see  it, 
and  none  were  more  deeply  interested  to  expose  it.  But  they  tes- 
tify that  after  His  resurrection  they  found  His  promises  true, 
and  every  Cliristian  now  finds  some  of  them  coniirmed  by  his 
own  experience  ;  and  for  this  they  believe  in  Him,  trust  in  Him, 
as  their  all  in  all,  and  only  liope  of  salvation. 

After  declaring  Himself  God,  and  one  with  the  Father,  He 
said,  "1  am  the  true  vine,  and  My  Father  is  the  husbandman.*' 
The  vine  was  a  syndjol  of  tlie  Church  of  God;  the  members,  tlie 
V>ranches  drawing  their  spiritual  life  from  Him.  Every  branch 
not  bearing  fruit  would  be  cut  off;  and  fruitful  ones  would  be 
purged  to  make  them  more  fruitful;  and  the  withered  brandies 
would  be  burned.  And  Christian  experience  testifies,  to  tlie 
truth  of  some  of  these  words. 

Tlie  promise,  looking  like  exaggeration,  that  His  disciples 
shall  have  what  they  ask  in  prayer,  is  confirmed  by  experience 
now;  if  not  given  as  asked,  yet  as  best — as  Christ's  prayer  in 
the  Garden,  otherwise  impossible,  was  answered,  without  ûia- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  299 

f-urbing  a  law  of  the  moral  government.  And  if  they  believe, 
love,  and  obey  Him,  God  will  be  glorilied  ;  and  they  will  abide 
in  His  love;  and  His  joy  would  be  in  them,  and  their  joy  be 
full. 

The  promise  to  give  what  they  asked,  included  physical  as 
well  as  spiritual  things.  God  made  and  controls  all  laM's  ;  be- 
cuuse  they  would  not  ask  things  inconsistent  for  Him  to  give. 
In  this  way  prayer  was  designed  to  educate  them,  to  trust  in 
God,  to  look  to  Him  like  children  to  a  Father;  because  commun- 
ion witji  Him  will  rétine  and  elevate,  and  reflect  His  rJgliteous- 
iiess.  And  no  one  can  live  habitually  in  sin,  who  habitually 
prays;  he  will  soon  leave  oif  sinning  or  praying.  One  universal 
answer  to  prayer  is  increasing  power  to  do  God's  will,  and  in- 
creasing love  of  Him,  learned  by  trying  this  promise. 

Christ  repeated  His  commandment  to  love  one  another,  as 
if  it  f ulhlled  all  duties.  To  die  for  a  friend  is  a  perfect  test  of 
human  love;  but  His  love  is  greater — to  die  for  His  enemies. 
If  they  will  do  His  will,  they  shall  be  His  friends.  He  had  re- 
vealed to  them  His  love  by  telling  them  what  He  had  heard 
from  the  Father;  and  in  the  next  life  He  will  make  them  heirs 
of  what  He  had  received  from  the  Father.  He  had  ordained 
them  to  bring  forth  much  fruit;  and  their  fruit  should  remain, 
as  the  kingdom  they  organized,  and  the  ministry  they  trans- 
mitted have  remained,  and  will  remai^i  to  the  world's  end. 

But  they  will  meet  opposition  and  persecutio.n^  as  He  had  ; 
and  as  the  world  had  hated  Him,  so  wmild  it  hate  them,  and 
their  successors.  And  at  this  dny  a  thonsand  enoîiiies  in  Christ- 
endom— many  of  them  Scribes  and  Pharisees  of  worldly  culture 
— prove  His  words  true.  Books  are  written  denying  His  divinity 
and  miracles,  and  reviling  His  disciples  and  religion  ;  and  a  stream 
of  the  blood  of  Mai-tyrs  for  His  truth,  has  flowed  from  Calvarj' 
to  our  day,  ending  with  Bishop  Patterson  pierced  by  the  arrows 
of  tiie  Fijees,  and  the  Christian  Soldier,  A.  D.  1878,  a  victim  of 


300  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Moslem  fanaticism  and  liate,  whose  liead  cleaved  by  an  axe  into 
four  parts,  was  said  to  be  signed  with  the  Sign  of  the  Cross. 
Christ  said,  "All  these  things  tlie,y  will  do  unto  you  for  My 
Name's  sake,  because  they  know  not  Ilim  who  sent  Me.'' 

Such  are  some  of  the  modern  jjroof 's  of  Christ's  truth  and 
Messiahsliip;  and  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  any  one 
but  God,  to  thus  foretell  what  would  be  going  on  in  this  world 
two  thousand  years  after  these  words  were  spoken. 

Tlien,  summing  up  His  own  mission  to  the  Jews,  He  s=aid, 
"If  I  liad  not  done  among  them  works  which  none  othei-  man 
did,  they  iiud  not  had  sin  ;  but  now  have  they  both  seen  and 
hated  both  Me  and  My  Father."  And  thus,  lie  says,  was  ful- 
tilled  wliat  the  prophets  foretold,  "They  hated  Mc  without  a 
cause." 

Tiion  followed  His  last  great  promise — that  which  was  to 
be  the  climax  of  His  Incarnation,  and  the  last  grand  result  of 
His  work  of  redemption — the  coming  of  the  Comforter,  who 
would  take  up  His  work  and  carry  it  on  until  the  world's  end. 
He  is  the  Spirit  of  Truth;  He  will  bring  all  things  to  their 
minds  He  had  taught  them;  He  would  testify  to  Christ,  and 
guide  them  into  all  truth,  and  bear  witness  to  the  world. 

But  the  Apostles  had  an  especial  witness  to  bear,  "because 
ye  have  been  witli  Me  from  the  beginning;"  and  now  the  Gos- 
pels and  Epistles,  and  the  very  name  of  Apostles,  and  the  Litur- 
gies of  His  Church,  and  Churches,  have  come  to  us  named  after 
tliem;  and  their  Gospels  and  Epistles  are  daily  read  by  thousands, 
and  tlms  testify  fur  Christ.  And  He  foretold  this,  that  tliey 
might  1)0  steadfast  under  persecution  ;  and  fu'ure  generations 
might  be  inexcusable  if  they  did  not  believe  Him  to  be  the  in- 
carnate Son  of  God. 

But  Christ  renewed  His  discourse,  saying,  "  Now  I  go  My 
way  to  Him  who  sent  Me;  and  none  of  you  ask,  Whither  goest 
Thou?"     Either  regret  at  His  departure,  or  surprise  that  He 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  801 

was  to  die — not  crowned  as  king  and  leaving  no  visible  kingdom — 
made  them  sorrowful,  and  afraid  to  ask  whither  He  was  going; 
without  His  presence  and  Almighty  help,  what  could  these  few, 
poor,  and  uninflucntial  disciples  do.  Nevertheless,  it  was  expe- 
dient that  He  should  go  away,  else  the  Comforter  would  not 
come:  "If  I  depart,  I  will  send  Him  unto  you."  It  was,  better 
for  them,  and  for  Christ,  and  the  world,  that  He  should  go;  be- 
cause He  was  never  in  but  one  country,  was  hated  and  perse- 
cuted unto  death.  But  the  Holy  Spirit  would  be  in  all  tne  world, 
and  Christ  in  Him  invisible,  and  so  impossible  to  persecute  Him. 
He  would  comfort,  teach,  lead,  and  sanctify  them — bring  all 
things  He  had  said  to  their  remembrance;  and  His  great  office 
for  the  world  would  be  to  reprove  it  of  sin,  righteousness,  and 
judgment;  striving  in  millions  of  hearts  at  the  same  time,  and 
bringing  all  who  will  repent  into  the  ways  of  righteousness,  and 
making  lliem  God's  spiritual  children. 

The  time  for  this  last  interview  with  His  disciples,  in  the 
flesh,  and  the  last  discourse  He  was  to  speak  to  them,  was  draw- 
ing to  an  end  ;  and  He  said,  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say 
to  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now."  One,  that  He  was  the 
Second  Person  of  the  Godhead,  "Howbeit  when  the  Spirit 
of  truth  is  come.  He  will  guide  you  into  all  truth,"  tell  them 
wliat  He  hears  from  the  Father,  and  show  them  things  to  come. 
"He  shall  receive  of  Mine  and  show  it  unto  yon;  all  things  the 
Father  hath  are  Mine;  therefore  I  said  He  shall  take  of  Mine 
and  show  it  unto  you."  Surely,  no  words  could  declare  more 
distinctly  His  unity  in  the  Godhead. 

And  then  followed  the  equally  distinct  assertion  that  in  "a 
little  while  (before  another  day  ends),  ye  shall  not  see  Me;  and 
again,  a  little  while  (after  three  days  in  the  tomb),  ye  shall  see 
Me,  because  I  go  to  the  Father."  Here  was:  First,  His  going 
away  to  Paradise;  Second,  His  return  to  this  world;  Third,  His 
coming  back  to  see  them,  before  His  ascension  to  Heaven. 


303  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

The  disciples  said  amono;  themselves,  "  AYliat  is  this,  He 
saitli  unto  ns  ;  a  little  while  and  ye  shall  not  see  Me;  and  again 
a  little  while  and  ye  shall  see  Me;  and,  because  I  go  to  the 
Father."  And  they  confessed  they  did  not  know  M'hat  He  meant. 
CoiiUi  any  human  mind  Jiave  invented  such  a  natural  and  beau- 
tiful incident  as  this,  were  it  not  real?  Or  would  any  men  bent 
on  deceiving  the  world  have  so  recorded  their  own  want  of  per- 
ception, after  all  Christ  had  said  and  done  before  them,  if  they 
were  telling  what  was  not  a  real  fact  ? 

Our  Lord  knew  they  were  desirous  to  ask  Him  to  tell  them 
plainly  what  He  meant  by  these  little  whiles,  and  going  to  the 
Father;  and  then  hear  His  words,  spoken  with  that  oath-like 
solemnity,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  shall  Aveep 
and  lament,  but  the  world  shall  rejoice;  and  ye  shall  be  sorrow- 
ful, but  your  sorrow  shall  be  turned  into  joy."  "What  a  transi- 
tion, this.  Tlie  next  day  they  saw  Jesus  on  the  cross,  and  that 
evening  the  Rulers  were  rejoicing;  and  the  disciples  hid  them- 
selves for  fear  that  they,  too,  would  follow  Him  by  a  similar 
death.  Then,  on  the  third  morning,  their  sorrow  was  turned  to 
jo}',  when  the  angel  told  Mary  the  Lord  had  risen,  and  the  dis- 
ciples found  the  tomb  empty. 

But  Christ's  soul  was  troubled  as  the  time  for  His  agony  in 
tlie  garden  approached,  and  He  was  to  be  torn  from  His  disci- 
ples; but  He  said,  "I  will  see  you  again,  and  your  heart  shall 
rejoice,  and  your  joy  no  man  taketh  from  you;  and  wluitsoever 
ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  My  name,  He  will  give  it  you." 
He  had  promised  before,  "  Ask,  and  I  will  give  you  ;  "  but  now 
it  is — ask  the  Father,  in  His  name,  and  He  will  give — because 
"  I  and  My  Father  are  one."  Is  there  not  a  Divine  subtlety  in 
this  doul)le  statement  of  the  truth,  in  a  way  no  human  mind 
would  have  thought  of;  but  designed  to  convince  cultivated 
minds,  after  they  were  enliglitencd  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  after 
Cliristianity  had  been  for  centuries  expanding  and  quickening 


LIFE    OF     CHRIST.  303 

the  luminn  intellect  ?  Surely  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  of  our 
day,  wlio  do  not  believe  in  the  divinitj^  of  Jesus  Christ — wlien 
they  compare  Pagandom,  when  Christ  came,  with  Christendom 
now — will  1)0  more  guilty  at  the  judgment,  than  those  who  cru- 
«•ilied  Him. 

That  new  mode  of  prayer  in  Christ's  name  was  incorporated 
into  the  Liturgies,  and  its  petitions  and  Collects  nearly  all  end, 
"for  the  sake  of,"  or  "through  the  merits  of,  Thy  Son,  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  And  then,  assuring  the  Apostles  of  the  Father's 
love — because  they  loved  Him,  and  believed  that  He  came  forth 
from  the  Father — He  renewed  His  declaration,  "I  came  fortli 
from  the  Father  and  am  come  into  the  world;  again,  I  leave 
the  world,  and  go  to  the  Father."  And  the  Apostles  said,  "Lo 
now  speakest  Thou  plainly,  and  in  no  proverb.  Now  we  are 
sure  that  Thou  knowest  all  things,  and  needest  not  that  any  man 
should  ask  Thee;  I)}'  this  we  believe,  that  Thou  camest  forth 
from  God." 

But  He  had  yet  one  more  thing  to  tell  them,  before  the  dis- 
course ended,  to  help  future  generations  also  believe  as  they 
did;  while  they  were  on  the  top  of  this  wave  of  faith,  how  must 
these  words  have  fallen  like  a  thunderbolt  on  their  hearts  and 
faith: 

"Do  ye  now  believe?  Behold,  the  hour  cometh,  ye^,  is 
now  come,  that  ye  shall  be  scattered,  every  man  to  His  own,  and 
shall  leave  Me  alone;  and  yet  I  am  not  alone,  because  the  Father 
is  with  Me.  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  in  Me 
ye  might  have  Peace,  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation; 
but  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world." 

And  He  continued  the  discourse,  asking  the  disciples, 
"Lacked  ye  anytbing  when  I  sent  you  out  without  purse,  scrip, 
or  shoes?"  And  they  answered,  "Nothing."  Then  said  He 
unto  them,  "But  now,  he  who  hath  a  purse,  let  Him  take  it,  and 
likewise  his  scrip;  and  he  who  hath  no  sword,  let  him  sell  his 


304  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

garment  and  buy  one.  For  I  say  nnto  yon,  tliat  tin's  wliîcli  is 
written  must  yet  be  accomplished  in  Me:  And  He  was  reckoned 
Avith  the  transgressors;  fur  the  things  concerning  Me  have  an 
end."  And  they  said,  "Lord,  here  are  two  swords."  And  He 
said  nnto  them,  "  It  is  enough."  They  utterly  misunderstood  His 
words;  but  the  swords  were  there  to  be  further  witnesses  for 
Christ,  and  for  the  painful  scenes  which  were  3'et  to  be  enacted. 
And  then  He  ended,  foreteUing  what  would  soon  follow: 
"All  ye  shall  be  offended  because  of  Me  this  night;  for  it  is 
written,  I  will  smite  the  Shepherd,  and  the  sheep  of  the  flock 
shall  be  scattered,"  quoting  the  Prophecy  of  Zachariah  concern- 
ing that  very  night;  but  3'et  comforting  them  by  the  promise, 
"But  after  I  am  risen  again,  I  will  go  before  you  into  Galilee," 
whereby  He  assures  them  that  He  will  continue  to  be  the  Shep- 
herd of  His  Flock  yet  after  His  resnrrection  And  the  Angel, 
whom  the  women  met  at  the  sepulchre  on  the  resurrection  morn, 
assured  them  that  the  promise  and  prophecy  of  Christ  would  be 
fulfilled  in  His  own  words,  "Behold,  He  goeth  before  you  into 
Galilee." 


CHAPTER    XL- 


THE  LAST  PRAYER  WITH  THE  APOSTLES. 


Pra_yer,  mental  or  vocal,  is  communion  with  God — though 
we  do  not  know  how  the  prayers  go,  nor  the  answers  come — but 
all  mankind  have  always  prayed  to  idols,  false  Gods,  or  to  the 
true  God.  And  the  earth  has  always  been  like  a  great  censer, 
hanging  in  space,  and  swinging  the  prayers  of  its  inliabitants 
like  incense  up  to  its  Creator. 

Before  Cln-ist,  God  was  addressed  as  the  Almighty,  Jcliovah, 
and  the  Lord  God  ;  and  it  was  twenty-tive  centuries  after  Adam 
before  He  w^as  called  the  Father.  And  Christ  first  taught  men 
to  pray  to  God  as  our  Father,  and  in  His  name;  and  He  ended 
His  discoui'se  at  the  last  supper  by  commending  the  Apostles  in 
prayer  to  the  Father,  before  He  went  to  Gethsemane  to  pray 
for  strength  to  deliver  Himself  to  His  enemies.  And  tlius  He 
began  and  ended  His  public  ministry  wâth  prayer. 

That  was  His  last  intercession  for  His  Church;  and  abounds, 
like  all  His  teachings,  in  both  prophecies  and  instruction.  And 
He  was  probably  offering  it  at  the  time  wlien  Judas  was  witli 
the  Rulers  of  the  Jews,  preparing  to  conduct  the  officers  to 
arrest  Him. 

That  Jesus  prayed  at  all  is  proof  that  He  is  the  Son  of 
Man;  while  the  nature  of  His  prayers  sliow  that  thej  could  have 


306  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

lieen  framed  bj  none  but  the  Son  of  God.  They  testify  to  His 
Divinity  as  stronj^ly  as  His  Doctrines  and  Miracles;  so  tliat  at 
all  times,  in  all  His  words  and  works,  He  continnally  appears  in 
the  double  aspect  of  the  God-Man,  and  as  no  other  man  ever 
appeared.  Before  calling  His  Apostks,  He  passed  the  night 
alone  in  prayer;  and  now,  about  to  leave  them,  His  last  act  was 
praying  with,  and  for,  them.  In  Gethsemane  He  pr-yed  for 
Himself;  on  the  Cross,  for  His  enemies;  and  He  breathed  out 
His  so\d,  commending  His  departing  spirit  to  the  Father. 

"  And  He  lifted  uj)  His  eyes  to  Heaven  and  said,  Father,  the 
hour  is  come" — the  hour  to  deliver  Himself  to  His  enemies — 
ready  and  willing  to  be  sacrificed  as  the  Lamb  of  God.  In  His 
eternal  High-Priesthood,  He  offered  Himself  to  the  Father,  the 
work  given  Him  to  do,  all  done  but  the  final  sacrifice  ;  and  He 
prayed,  "  Father,  glorify  Thou  Me  with  the  glory  I  had  with 
Thee  before  the  world  was." 

Had  He  returned  to  Heaven  in  only  the  one  nature  of  God, 
in  which  He  came  do\vn,  the  prayer  would  be  meaningless;  but 
did  He  take  up  His  liuman  natm'e  to  be  glorified  with  it,  then 
the  prayer  is  evidence  that  God  and  man  are  inseparably  united 
in  Plim.  And  it  is  one  of  the  most  convincing  proofs  that  He  is 
the  Messiah,  the  Christ,  the  Mighty  God,  the  Saviour,  who,  as  St. 
Augustin  said,  "So  came  into  this  world  as  never  to  leave  the 
Father,  and  so  went  to  the  Father  as  never  to  leave  this  world." 

He  said  He  had  manifested  the  Father's  name  to  His  disci- 
ples, given  them  the  words  He  had  given  Him,  and  prayed  that 
He  would  keep  them  when  He  left  the  world,  and  sanctify  them 
through  His  truth.  By  not  praying  for  the  world  He  meant 
only  the  reprobate;  while  the  etei'nal  life  the  Father  had  given 
Him,  and  He  had  given  HiS  disciples — who  know  the  only  true 
God  and  the  Christ  Whom  He  sent — is  an  eternal  life,  to  be 
lived  in  His  kingdom  in  Heaven;  which  shows  the  Father's  co- 
operation in  His  work  of  Redemption.     He  had  taken  His  dis- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  307 

ciplcs  out  of  the  world  and  made  them  know  the  Father's  love; 
and  He  was  glorified  in  them,  because  "all  Mine  are  Thine,  and 
Tliine  are  Mine" — so  also  would  all  be  wlio  should  believe  on 
Him  tlirough  their  word. 

And. again  He  said,  "Now  I  am  no  more  in  the  world,  but 
these  are  in  the  world,  and  I  eome  to  Thee,"  for  the  disciples 
are  to  remain.  He  knew  how  forlorn  they  will  be  in  the  little 
time  of  His  absence,  and  how  persecuted  they  will  be  to  their 
lives'  ends;  and  so  He  adds  tins  marvellous  petition,  "Holy 
Father,  keep  through  Thine  own  Name  those  wiiom  Thou  hast 
given  Me  (it  includes  all  the  whole  Church)  that  they  may  be 
one,  as  We  are  One" — of  one  mind  and  will  with  them,  for  this 
is  the  result  of  Christ's  righteousness,  the  fruit  of  man's  regen- 
eration and  sanctification  through  the  Holy  Spirit. 

And  we  learn  from  this  prayer,  that  He  had  kept  in  His 
Name  all  whom  God  the  Father  had  given  Him,  and  none  is 
lost  but  the  Son  of  Perdition,  Judas  ;  and  he,  that  the  Scripture 
might  be  fulfilled,  that  Christ  should  have  a  betrayer  in  one  of 
His  own  Apostles.  Not  tliat  He  or  the  Father  willed  it,  but  be- 
cause Judas  fitted  himself  for  the  predicted  office.  And  from 
His  address,  "Holy  Father,"  He  gave  His  disciples  a  form, 
through  which  He  offered  His  most  earnest  supplication  for  the 
unity  of  His  Church  ;  and  alf  Christians  are  sanctified  by  God 
the  Father,  tin-ough  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

But  this  prayer  does  not  imply  that  He  did  not  know  the 
divisions  which  would  follow,  and  the  dissensions  His  religion 
would  make  in  the  world,  or  that  the  praj^er  would  not  be  an- 
swered ;  it  was  a  prayer  for  tlie  faitliful,  that  they  might  con- 
tinue in  that  spiritual  relation  of  unity  of  mind  and  will,  under 
the  trilnilation  which  awaited  them,  that  He  enjoyed  in  His 
tribulation — in  doing  the  Father's  will. 

The  next  petition  reveals  the  reason  of  Christ's  desire  for 
the  unity  of  His  Church,    "That  the  world  may  believe  that 


308  LIFEOFCHRIST. 

thou  liast  seen  Mo."  Tiie  desire  tliiit  His  Chureli  might  be 
joined  to  Ilini,  tlie  Head  in  the  nnity  of  the  faith,  and  ministry, 
and  worship  He  fj;ave  it;  and  liad  it  remained  so,  liow  different 
wouhl  l)e  the  aspect  of  the  religions  world  and  its  literature. 
Schism  would  not  exist,  nor  Christendom  he  an  arena  of  con- 
Hicting  religious  opinions;  and  heathen,  as  well  as  nnhelicvers 
in  Christian  lands,  pointing  to  them  as  evidences  that  Christian- 
ity is  a  failure;  and  (cultivated  Fagans  telling  missionaiies  to 
settle  their  own  disputes,  l)efore  tlioy  come  to  convert  them. 
These  divisions  arc  tlie  chief  causes  of  all  the  unhelief  of  the 
masses  in  Christendom;  the  uninstructed  helieve — that  any  relig- 
ion which  recognizes  Christ  as  the  Divine  person,  and  any  min- 
istry which  professes  to  teach  Chri--t,  and  any  way  men  may 
choose  to  worship  Him,  is  jnst  as  good  as  His  one  way,  He 
prayed  so  earnestly  to  have  maintained. 

But  this  is  impossible,  from  what  followed  in  the  prayer 
respecting  His  Church,  "The  glory  Thou  gavest  Me  1  have 
given  them,  that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  We  are  One;"  that 
through  the  spirit  we  may  1)e  njade  one  with  Him,  as  the  God- 
Man,  as  He  is  One  with  the  Father;  and  He  said,  "I  in  them, 
and  Thou  in  Me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in  One."  It  is 
this  which  makes  the  Communion  of  Saints,  of  which  Christ  is 
the  Head;  and  so  St.  Paul  wrote  to  the  Corinthians,  "All  things 
are  yours,  and  ye  are  Clu'ist's,  and  Christ  is  God's."  And  He 
repeats  the  reason  for  this  petition,  "That  the  world  ma}'  know 
that  Thou  hast  sent  Me,  and  hast  loved  them  as  Thou  hast  loved 
Me;"  that  is,  that  all  in  this  communion  may  have  the  assur- 
ance that  they  are  loved  of  God  the  Father,  for  Christ's  sake, 
and  their  salvation  through  Him  is  sure;  and  thrice  He  used 
that  word  One,  that  the  world  might  believe. 

But  now  a  thousand  centers  claim  the  oneness  in  a  wrang- 
ling; Christendom,  and  the  world  is  running  into  unbelief  and 
ungodliness.     One  Center  would  make  Chi-ist's  Churcii  a  uni- 


LIFE    OF    CHE  I  ST.  309 

versai  kingdom  su(;h  as  the  would  never  saw,  and  enable  it  to 
concentrate  all  its  power  in  breaking  np  heathendom,  and  pre- 
paring the  way  to  hail  Ilim  with  joy  at  His  second  advent;  and 
that  was  the  reason  for  this  last  j^rayer  with  His  disciple^^,  and 
for  His  Church,  He  foresaw  the  unity  would  be  broken,  and 
so  prayed  tlie  more  earnestly  tliat  in  all  future  times  His  will 
miiiht  be  known,  and  men  should  have  no  excuse  for  rending  it. 
And  He  knew  the  prayer  will  be  answered,  not  on  earth,  but 
by  the  unity  in  the  millions  in  Paradise,  who  are  one  with  the 
faithful  on  earth  ;  and  it  will  be  perfected  after  the  resurrection 
in  Heaven,  with  the  next  petition  of  the  prayer: 

"  Father,  I  will  tliat  they  also  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me 
be  with  Me  where  I  am" — be  with  Him  eternally.  He  can 
endure  man's  unbelief,  and  self-will,  and  self-sufficiency  until 
tlien;  and  so  must  we  be  patient  under  it,  and  watch  and  pray, 
and  so  do  our  work  that  we  may  at  last  be  of  that  blessed  com- 
pany. And  there  behold,  aye  more,  be  partakers  of  that  glory 
the  Father  gave  Him  before  the  world  was;  and  there  forever 
enjoy  that  greatest  gift  of  God,  "  that  the  love  wherewith  Thou 
hast  loved  Me  may  be  in  them,  and  I  in  them.'" 

IN    GETHSEMANE. 

When  our  Lord  and  the  Apostles  had  sung  an  hymn,  they 
went  from  Jerusalem  to  tlie  Garden  of  Gethsemane — at  the  foot 
of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  about  lialf  a  mile  from  the  city — wliere 
they  often  resorted,  which  was  well  known  to  Judas.  And  when 
they  came  to  the  place.  He  said  to  the  Apostles,  "Sit  ye  here, 
while  I  go  and  pray  yonder  ;  "  and  He  took  Peter,  and  James, 
and  John,  as  witnesses  of  His  humiliation,  as  they  had  been  of 
His  Transliguration.  And  He  said  to  tliem,  "  My  soul  is  ex- 
ceedingly sorrowful,  even  unto  death;  tarry  ye  here  and  watch 
with  Me.  The  watching  was  for  the  coming  of  Judas  and  the 
officers.     And  He  went  a  little  from  them,  and  fell  on  His  face 


310  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

and  prayed,  saying,  "O  My  Father,  if  it  be  possible — all  tilings 
are  possible  to  Tliee — let  this  cup  pass  from  Me;"  the  cup  was 
not  death  that  He  feared,  for  He  had  foretold  that  M'ithout 
regret;  but  it  was  all  that  was  involved  in  it — the  betrayal,  de- 
sertiou,  and  denial  by  those  He  most  loved  on  eartli,  and  diiefly 
the  anguish  of  bearing  the  wliole  world's  sins.  The  prostration 
was  an  act  of  the  deepest  humiliation  and  supplication,  and  the 
beginning  of  the  bearing  in  His  body  the  sins  of  all  mankind. 
It  was  the  struggle  of  His  liuman  will  against  His  Divine  will, 
as  He  was  offering  Himself  as  ready  for  the  sucrilice;  one  hour 
He  suffered  the  anguish,  and  His  human  will  endured  it;  and 
He  said,  "Nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  Init  as  Thou  wilt." 

Then  He  returned  to  the  disciples  and  found  them  sleeping, 
and  said,"  "  What,  could  ye  not  watch  witli  Me  one  hour  ?  "  The 
interrogative  and  emphatic  '•  what,"  to  remind  Peter  of  His  recent 
boast  of  being  ready  to  follow  Him  to  death.  Again  He  charged 
them  to  watch  and  pray,  lest  they  ho  led  into  temptation  ;  and 
went  away  a  second  time. 

And  He  prayed,  saying,  "O  Father,  if  this  cup  may  not 
pass  away  from  Me,  except  I  drink  it,  Thy  will  be  done."  The 
tirst  hour's  prayer  had  wrought  some  change  in  His  will,  and 
was  tending  to  harmony  with  His  Divine  will;  but  the  great 
stru"'iïlo  was  to  come.  He  returned  to  the  Disciplcb  and  found 
tliem  asleep  again,  for  their  eyes  were  heavy.  And  He  excused 
their  want  of  sympathy,  because  the  foretelling  His  speedy  death 
liad  made  them  sorrowful.  For  twenty-four  hours  they  had  been 
hiding  in  terror  from  the  Jews;  and  now,  at  midnight,  in  the 
solitude  of  the  mountain,  they  were  heavy  with  sleep.  How  this 
incident  confirms  the  truth  of  the  whole  narrative. 

And  He  went  away  the  third  time  and  prayed,  saying  the 
same  words;  and  then,  knowing  that  Judas  and  His  band  were 
approaching,  He  made  the  final  surrender  of  His  will  causing 
such  excruciating  agony  that  He  sweat,  as  it  were  great  drops 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  311 

of  blood  falling  to  the  ground.  And  as  His  will  triumphed,  Hia 
prayer  was  answered,  an  angel  came  and  strengthened  Him  ;  and 
returning  He  f(nind  the  Disciples  asleep  again,  and  said,  "Why 
sleep  ye,  rise  and  pray  lest  ye  enter  into  temptation."  And  while 
He  spake,  Judas  and  the  olKcers  approached. 

From  this  prayer  we  see  how  God  can  answer  a  prayer,  im- 
possible to  grant  as  it  is  asked,  and  yet  witliout  changing  His 
purpose;  and  in  a  way  best  for  CIn-ist,  best  for  God,  and  best 
for  our  salvation.  St.  Paul  said,  *'  Christ  offered  up  prayers  and 
supplications  with  strong  crying  and  tears,  unto  Him  wlio  was 
able  to  save  Him  from  death,  and  was  heard  in  that  He  feared," 
— which  was  the  struggle  of  His  human  will  against  the  anguish 
of  the  world's  sin  to  be  laid  on  Him.  The  angels  strengthened 
Him,  and  His  fear  vanished;  and  He  never  flinched  under  the 
arrest,  insults,  unjust  condemnation,  scourging,  or  the  agony  of 
His  crucifixion;  for  when  His  human  soul  felt  the  death  agony, 
He  only  asked  why  God  had  deserted  Him. 

Some  men  say  Nature's  laws  are  unchangable,  and  it  is 
useless  to  pray  to  alter  them;  jet  Christ  without  prayer  stilled 
the  winds  and  waves,  and  made  M^ater  turn  into  wine,  and  the 
dead  come  to  life;  and  men  now  interrupt  or  modify  natural 
laws,  convert  water  to  force,  divert  the  lightning  from  its 
natural  C(uirse,  make  electricity  act  against  its  ordinary  laws. 
And  God,  who  created  the  universe,  can  far  more  easily  stop 
the  motion  of  the  solar  syijtem,  or  the  revolution  of  a  planet, 
•without  disturbing  its  vorder,  than  a  nrechanic  who  makes  a 
watch,  or  engine,  or  battery,  can  stop  its  action  without  injuring 
it.  And  the  power,  by  which  God  interrupts  natural  laws,  ma}-' 
be  by  a  higher  law  of  the  supernatural  world,  of  which  we  know 
nothing. 

Prayer  is  a  discipline — it  does  not  change  God's  mind,  but 
brings  guidance  fi-om  Him.  Once  David  praj'ed  to  God,  to  tell 
him  if  the  Men  of  Keilah  would  deliver  him  to  Saul.     And  He 


31%  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

answered,  yes;  but  David  departed  and  saved  iiisl'fe;  and  there 
is  no  answer  promised  except  to  faith,  and  offered  in  Christ's 
name.  AVe  pray  for  prosperity,  and  adversity  "omes;  for  removal 
of  troubles,  or  deliverance  from  temptations,  and  they  increase. 
AVe  ask  for  restoration  of  cliildren  or  relatives  from  sickness,  and 
they  die;  but  God's  way  is  best — disciplines  us  into  Christ's  like- 
ness, removes  cliildren  from  evils  to  come,  or  friends  to  a  l)etter 
life,  and  makes  all  to  help  our  sanctitication.  He  withholds  in 
love  what  we  ask  for,  and  sends  what  He  knows  is  better  for  us; 
and  what  wo  shall  eternally  tliank  Ilim  for  in  the  life  to  come. 
Even  in  this  life  we  often  find  what  we  mourned  over  at  the  time, 
was  a  blessing  in  disguise  ;  and  that  our  hardest  trials  have  been 
our  richest  means  ^-f  grace. 

It  is  the  triumph  of  faith  to  submit  to  God's  will  in  adver- 
sity; to  trust  in  Him  when  all  earthly  trusts  fail  ns;  and  keep  on 
praying,  as  our  Lord  did,  when  the  shadows  of  death  encompass 
ns.  Because,  in  this  way  our  life  is  made  like  Christ's;  and  when 
we  can  pray  in  the  darkest  hours  of  distress,  as  He  did,  "  Tiiy  will 
be  done,"  we  have  become  so  far  Christ-like,  or  true  Christians, 
that  we  are  fitted  for  the  employments  and  enjoyments  of  the 
Saints  in  Paradise,  where  He  went  when  He  overcame  the  sharp- 
ness of  death.  Such  is  the  blessed  lesson  we  learn  from  our  Sav- 
iour's example — which  is  largely  confirmed  by  our  own  expéri- 
ence— of  the  blessed  fruits  of  earnest,  persevering  prayer,  offered 
to  our  Hcavenl}-  Father,  in  our  dear  Lord's  Name. 


CHAPTER   XLI 


CHRIST'S  ARREST  AND  TRIAL. 


When  our  Lord  returned  the  tliird  time,  and  found  the 
Apostles  asleep,  He  said,  "Why  sleep  ye?  Arise,  let  us  go,  be- 
hold, he  is  at  hand  who  betrayetii  Me" — a  caution  against  the 
cowardice  and  want  of  sympathy  they  were  about  to  manifest 
towards  Him. 

And  lo  !  while  He  was  speaking,  Judas  came  witli  a  band  of 
officers — armed  with  swords,  and  clubs,  and  lanterns — to  arrest 
the  meekest  and  holiest  Man  who  ever  lived;  Judas  had  given 
the  officers  the  sign  that,  Whosoever  lie  kissed,  Him  they  must 
take  and  lead  away  safely.  And  he  went  to  Christ  and  said, 
"Hail  Master,"  and  kissed  Him:  and  He  said,  "Friend,  where- 
fore art  thou  come  ?  Betrayest  thou  the  Son  of  Man,  witli  a 
kiss?"  Judas  had  seen  Christ  often  save  Himself  from  His 
enemies,  and  doubtless  expected  He  would  do  so  then;  and  that 
he  would  earn  his  bribe  money,  and  cheat  the  rulers.  Bat  Peter 
drew  his  sword  and  asked,  "Lord,  shall  we  smite?"  And  with- 
ont  waiting  an  answer,  he  cut  off  the  .right  ear  of  Malchus,  a 
servant  of  the  High  Priest;  but  Christ  said  to  him,  "Put  up  thy 
sword  ;  all  they  who  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the  sword. 
The  cup  My  Father  hath  given  Me,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ?  How, 
then,  sliall  the  Scripture  be  f  iiltilled  that  thus  it  must  be  ?    Think- 


314  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

est  thon  that  I  cannot  now  pray  to  My  Father,  and  He  shall  pres- 
ently give  Me  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  "  More  than  a 
legion  of  defending  angels  for  each  helpless  Apostle.  And,  un- 
disturbed by  the  mob,  and  confusion,  and  His  arrest,  Pie  touched 
Malchus'  ear  and  restored  it  ;  otherwise,  it  would  have  been  evi- 
dence in  the  Council  that  He  and  tlie  disciples  were  dangerous 
enemies  of  society. 

Christ  then  said  to  the  officei-s,  "  Whom  seek  ye  3  "  And 
tliey  said,  "  Jesus  of  Nazaretli  ;  "  and  He  said,  "  I  am  He."  And 
they  went  ba(^kward  and  fell  to  the  ground;  and  by  this  miracle 
He  showed  them  they  had  no  power  to  arrest  Him,  except  by 
His  will.  And  He  said  to  them,  "Are  ye  come  out  as  against  a 
thief,  with  swords  and  staves  to  take  Me  ?  I  sat  daily  with  you 
in  tlie  Temple  teaching,  and  ye  laid  no  hold  on  Me." 

And  again  He  asked,  "Whom  seek  ye?"  And  they  an- 
swered, "Jesus  of  Nazareth;"  and  He  said,  "I  have  told  you  I 
am  He.  If,  therefore,  ye  seek  Me,  let  these  go  their  way  ;  "  that 
His  words  might  be  verified,  "  Of  them  wliich  Thou  gavest  Me, 
have  I  lost  none  but  the  Son  of  Perdition."  And  Christ  said, 
"This  is  your  liour,  and  tlie  power  of  darkness;  bat  the  Script- 
ure must  be  fulfilled."  Then  laid  they  their  hands  on  Him,  and 
bound  Him  with  cords;  seeing  this,  the  Apostles  all  forsook 
Him  and  ficd.  And  two  prophecies  of  that  event  were  fulfilled — 
His  enemies  had  stumbled  and  fallen;  and  His  friends  forsaken 
Him  and  fled. 

The  officers  led  Him  first  to  Annas'  house,  the  father-in- 
law  of  Cîdaphas,  whom  the  Rulers  held  as  the  lawful  High 
Priest;  and  as  they  went,  passing  a  young  man  with  a  linen 
cloth  about  Ids  naked  body,  tliey  laid  hold  of  him;  and  he  es- 
caped from  the  cloth,  and  fled  from  them  naked. 

This  fulfilled  a  remarkable  type  of  the  Jewish  day  of  atone- 
ment, when  the  High  Priest  presented  two  goats  before  the 
Lord,  at  the  door  of  the  Tabernacle  ;    and  cast  lots,  one  for  the 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  315 

Lord,  and  the  otlier  for  the  scape-goat.  Tims  minutely  did  Christ 
show  to  the  Jews — and  to  tlie  Gentile  world  ever  since — that  Be 
was  the  true  Pascal  Lamb  of  God,  foretold  by  all  the  prophets 
since  the  world  began. 

Because  the  escape-goat  into  the  wilderness  signified  that 
Christ's  atonement  was  for  the  sins  of  the  Gentile  world,  as  well 
as  the  Jews.  The  blood  of  the  goat  of  the  sin  offering  was 
carried  within  the  veil,  and  sprinkled  before  the  Mercy  Seat,  to 
make  an  atonement  for  the  Holy  Place,  and  for  the  transgres- 
sions and  sins  of  the  people;  this  fnllilled  type,  as  Clirist  was 
being  led  to  the  Council  to  be  condemned  to  death,  was  another 
proof  to  the  Jews  of  His  Messiahship.  Pie  was  taken  to  Ann;is 
iirst,  to  get  his  approval  of  the  arrest,  l)ut  no  examination  was 
lield  there;  but  he  sent  Christ  bound  to  Caiaphas,  that  he  might 
order  His  trial  and  condemnation — because  the  Roman  Governor 
would  approve  and  execute  his  sentence. 

It  was  past  midnight  before  Christ  was  led  to  Caiaphas, 
where  the  Council  had  assembled  and  the  pretence  of  a  trial 
began.  But  it  was  the  mockery  of  a  Hebrew  judicial  trial,  with- 
out either  its  form  or  fairness  ;  because  it  required  the  accused 
to  have  his  crime  stated,  to  be  confronted  with  his  accusers — not 
to  be  tried  for  liis  life  hurriedly  or  in  the  night,  and  not  to  be 
condemned  except  on  the  testimony  of  two  witncsses>,  and  never 
on  his  own  testimony;-  and  all  these  conditions  Were  violated.  ■ 

St.  John  recovered  îvom  Iris  aUrm  and  flighty  had  returaied 
and  followed  Christ  to  the  ilall  of  Judgifent;  he  knew,  also, 
tliat  Peter  was  at  the  door,  and  he  went  out  to  bring  him  in. 
And  a  woman  at  the  door  said  to  him,  as  he  was  entering,  "  Art 
not  thou,  also,  one  of  this  Man's  disciples?"  And  he  said,  "I 
am  not." 

Meanwhile,  the  High  Priest  asked  Christ  of  His  disciples 
and  doctrines.  And  Jesus,  claiming  His  legal  rights,  replied,  "  I 
ever  spake  openly  in  tiie  Synagogue  and  Temple,  whither  the 


316  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Jews  always  resort  ;  and  in  secret  liave  I  said  nothing."  This 
was  a  protest  against  the  illegal  proceeding,  and  a  claim  of  His 
rio-ht,  according  to  tlie  law,  to  be  informed  of  His  accusation, 
and  confronted  by  witnesses.  And  He  said,  "Ask  those  who 
licnrd  ]\ïe,  what  I  have  said  nnto  them;  beliold,  they  know  what 
I  have  saith"  These  words  evince  conscions  innocence  of  any 
crime;  they  were  dignitied  and  respectful,  and  He  knew  that 
the  Rulers  had  heard  His  discourses  in  the  Temple.    ' 

"When  He  had  thus  spoken,  one  of  the  otKccrs  present 
struck  Him  with  tlie  palm  of  his  hand,  saying,  'AnswerestThou 
the  Hi<di  Priest  so?  '"  Tiiis  indignity  by  acourt-uienial  was  not 
rebuked  by  the  Judge,  and  Jesus  saw  wiiat  kind  of  justice  was 
to  be  expected  from  his  decision. 

Meanwhile,  the  servants  had  kindled  a  tiro,  and  Peter  stood 
and  warmed  himself;  and  they  said  to  him,  "Art  not  tliuu  also 
one  of  His  disciples?"     And  He  said,  "I  am  not." 

The  Council  sought  false  witnesses  against  Christ,  to  give 
the  semblance  of  a  fair  trial;  but  the  ol>ject  was  to  make  testi- 
mony to  put  Him  to  death.  But  it  found  none;  though  many 
testitied,  their  testimony  did  not  agree.  But  certain  false  wit- 
nesses said,  "AYe  heard  Him  say,  I  will  destroy  this  Temple 
made  with  hands,  and  in  three  days  will  build  another  made 
without  hands."  This  was  to  prove  Christ  an  incendiary,  or  pro- 
fane person,  who  would  dcsti-oy  God's  temple;  but  the  witnesses 
did  not  agree.  Thus  far,  thene  was  a  pretence  of  justice;  and, 
as  the  testimony  was  insuthcient  to  convict  Him,  He  was  legally 
entitled  to  be  set  at  liberty.  Chrisi,  was  silent,  during  these  pro- 
ceedings; He  would  take  no  part,  because  they  were  illegal. 

It  then  looked  to  the  High  Priest  as  if  tlie  Council  would 
fail  to  find  any  cause  to  condemn  Him;  and  he  said  to  Jesus, 
"Answerest  Thou  nothing?  Wluit  is  it  these  witness  against 
Thee?"  But  Jesus  kept  silence.  Then  the  High  Priest  said 
to  Him,  "  I  abjure  Thee  by  the  living  God,  that  Thou  tell  us 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  317 

wlic'tlior  Tlioii  be  the  Clirist,  the  Son  of  Go.]?"  Tliis  \v;is  put- 
ting Iliin  on  His  oath,  as  was  cn.-tuninry  tlien  to  Irt  a  criininal 
testify  for  liiniself. 

The  Higli  Priest  knew  that  Jes\is  churned  to  he  tlie  Clirist, 
and  supposed  He  would  tlicn  admit  it;  and  he  had  refrained 
from  putting  this  question,  until  he  saw  liis  first  effort  to  convict 
had  failed;  and  he  showed  his  confidence  in  Cin-ist's  ti-utliful- 
ness,  believing  He  would  not  deny  it.  Here,  again,  it  was  the 
Court's  duty  to  bring  witnesses  that  He  claimed  to  be  the  Christ. 

But  He  made  it  needless,  saying,  "  If  I  tell  you,  ye  will  not 
believe;  and  if  I  also  ask  you,  ye  will  not  let  Me  go;"  but  say- 
ing "Thou  hast  said,"  was  assent,  I  am,  as  you  say,  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God,  and  "  hereafter  ye  shall  see  the  Son 
of  Man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  on  the 
clouds  of  Heaven."  Then  the  High  Priest  rent  his  clothes,  sig- 
nifying that  Christ  had  spoken  blasphemy  ;  and  said,  "  WJiat  need 
we  further  witness,  ye  have  heard  out  of  His  own  mouth  ;  what 
think  ye?"  And  they  answered,  "Pie  is  guilty  of  death."  Then 
•followed  the  scene  which  set  law  and  justice  at  defiance:  "They 
spit  in  His  face,  and  buffeted  Him;  and  smote  Him  with  the 
palms  of  their  hands." 

Had  Christ  been»  guilty  of  blasphemy,  that  was  treason 
against  the  Theocracy,  and  He  would  have  been  justly  condemn- 
ed; but  so  far  from  that.  He  asserted  the  truth  of  His  Divine 
character  and  office,  and  was  unjustly  condemned.  Tiiis  settled 
the  matter  of  His  death,  so  far  as  the  Sanhedrim  had  the  power. 
But  the  Romans  had  deprived  it  of  authority  to  execute  the  con- 
demned; and  the  whole  multitude  arose  and  led  Jesus  to  Pilate. 

An  hour  had  now  passed  since  Peter  had  a  second  time  de- 
nied the  Lord;  and  apparently  just  before  the  departure  from  the 
Sanhedrim,  another  woman  confidently  affirmed,  "This  fellow 
also  was  with  Him,  for  he  is  a  Galilean,  and  his  speech  agreeth 
thereto;"  and  Peter  began  to  curse  and  swear,  "I  know  not 


818  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

what  thon  sayest."  And  immediately,  while  he  yet  spake,  the 
cock  crew;  and  the  Lord  tnrned  and  looked  on  Peter.  And  he 
reinemliered  the  Avords  of  tlie  Loi-d,  liow  IIo  said,  "Before  the 
cock  ci-ow  twice,  thou  shnlt  deny  Me  tliriee;"  and  lie  went  out 
and  wept  T)itterly. 

The  Divine  compassion  in  tlio  Lord's  look,  melted  Peter's 
heart.  Put  wliile  he  wept  for  liis  nnworthiness,  lie  was  confirmed 
in  his  faith  and  love  of  Christ,  and  w-as  ever  more  faithful  unto 
death — more  devoted,  and  willing  to  bear  His  cross  than  lie 
■would  have  been,  but  for  His  terrible  fall  and  merciful  forgive- 
ness. 

As  one  Apostle,  Judas,  had  his  special  work  to  betray  Christ; 
so  had  Peter  his,  to  deny  Him — to  teach  His  disciples  another 
lesson,  tlie  power  of  faith.  Judas'  faith  failed,  and  he  was  lost; 
Christ  prayed  that  Peter's  might  not  fail,  and  it  did  not;  and  he 
Avas  saved,  thongli  his  gnilt  was  apparently  as  great  as  Judas'. 
And  it  lias  been  a  consolation  to  Christians  evei-  since;  and  with- 
out tliis  example  of  Clirist's  great  forgiveness  at  such  n  time, 
and  under  such  circumstances,  we  should  not  have  known  liow 
far  reaching  His  love  and  mercy  arc;  and  there  are  V)ut  few 
Christians  who  would  not,  sometimes,  despair  of  tlie  forgiveness 
of  their  sins. 

Now  the  scene  had  changed,  and  Christ  is  arraigned  before 
Pontius  Pilate.  The  Rulers  of  the  Jews,  in  their  rage  and  haste, 
assembled  a  midnight  Council,  and  made  themselves  imimpeach- 
able  witnesses  for  Christ  ;  and  were  doing  His  will  in  hastening 
His  trial,  that  He  might  also  be  arraigned  before  the  Roman 
Governor,  to  have  their  sentence  confirmed,  and  His  cru(dfi.\ion 
accomplished — so  that  He  would  die  at  the  exact  hour  when  the 
last  Pascal  Lamb  was  killed,  and  foi-ever  abolish  the  Passover. 

Pilate  was  appointed  Procurator  of  Judea,  A.  D.  27,  by 
Tiberius,  and  he  had  resided  at  Jerusalem;  and  though  he  cared 
but  little  for  the  Jews,  he  must  have  heard  of  Clirist's  miracles 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  319 

aîîd  doctrines,  and  it  is  evident  he  desired  to  save  Ilini  from 
IJis  enemies. 

There  w:is  really  no  trial  of  Cliris't  before  Pilate,  accoi'ding 
ti»  Roinnn  judicial  forms;  the  Rulers  of  the  Jews  led  Jesus  there 
for  Pilate  to  confinn  their  sentence,  and  to  order  His  crucitix- 
ion.  And  Pilate  declared  that  their  demand  was  unreas(mal)le; 
he  knew  the  sentence  of  tlie  Council  was  illegal,  and  he  detcr- 
n)ined  rot  to  confirm  it,  hut  to  release  Him.  His  conduct  to- 
wards the  Jews  was  commonly  arbitrary  ;  and  he  did  not  c;a-e  to 
please  them,  as  his  efforts  to  release  Christ  proved. 

The  Chief  Priests  and  Elders  accompanied  Christ  to  the 
Roman  Court,  but  they  would  not  go  in — lest  they  should  be  de- 
filed, and  could  not  eat  the  Passov^er.  When  Jesus  came  l)cfore 
Pilate,  he  put  himself  in  the  place  of  a  judge — by  asking 
the  witnesses,  "  What  accusation  bring  ye  against  this  Man  ?  '• 
And  the  Jews  avoided  a  direct  answer  to  his  question,  saying, 
"  If  He  were  not  a  malefactor,  we  would  not  have  brought  Him 
to  you."  Tliey  said,  "  He  is  a  pe-tilent  fellow,  stirring  up  all 
Jewry — beginning  at  Galilee,  fori  adding  to  give  tribute  to 
Cfesar,  and  saying  Himself  is  a  King." 

The  condemnation  of  Christ  by  the  Council  was  for  blas- 
phemy, a  theocratic  crnne  ;  but  the  llulers  knew  that  was  no 
violation  of  the  Roman  Law.  So  they  made  a  new  accusation 
before  Pilate,  and  demanded  sentence  for  a  political  crime — for 
refusing  tribute  to  Cœsai,  and  making  Himself  a  King;  the 
chargé  was  partly  true,  and  partly  false — wholly  false  in  the 
view  in  wliicli  it  was  made — and  that  prevented  agreement  in  the 
witnesses.  And  here,  again,  because  the  proceeding  was  unjust, 
Christ  said  nothing,  and  made  no  plea  or  defence;  He  knew 
tiiey  were  making  testimony  to  prove,  to  future  ages,  wliat  they 
denied,  that  He  Is  the  Clirist. 

Pilate  listened  to  the  accusation,  and  then  said  to  Christ, 
"Behold  how  many  things  they  witness  against  Thee;  answerest 


820  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Thon  nothing  ?"  Tliis  was  to  put  tlie  hnrden  of  defence  on 
Christ,  and  was  illegal;  and  He  made  no  reply,  and  Pilate 
marveled  at  His  patient  silence. 

Meanwiiile  a  new  witness  for  Christ's  innocence  appeared, 
which  increased  Pilate's  desire  to  release  Him;  his  wife  sent  to 
him,  on  the  Judgment  Seat,  saying,  "  Have  thou  nothing  to  do 
with  that  Just  Man,  for  I  have  suffered  many  things  this  day  in 
a  dream,  because  of  Him:"  then  Pilate  went  out  to  the  Rulers 
of  the  Jews,  and  said,  "  Take  ye  Him,  and  judge  Him  according 
to  your  Law;  for  I  lind  no  fault  in  Him." 

This  was  pronouncing  Him  innocent,  and  it  was  his  duty  to 
relase  Him  ;  but  the  Jews  answered,  "  It  is  not  lawful  for  us  to 
put  any  man  to  death  ;  "  for  God  had  so  ordered  it  that  they 
could  not — that  the  prophecies  concerning  His  death  by  cruci- 
fixion, and  not  by  stoning  as  the  Jewish  law  required,  might  be 
fuimied. 

The  evasion  and  persistency  of  the  Jews,  appears,  to  have 
angered  Pilate;  and  returning  to  the  Judgment  Seat,  he  asked 
Christ,  "Art  Thou  the  king  of  the  Jews?"  And  He  answered, 
"Sayest  thou  this  thing  of  thyself,  or  did  others  tell  it  thee  of 
Me?"  This  was  admitting  it;  yes,  it  is  so.  Pilate  again  asked, 
"Am  I  a  Jew?  Thine  own  nation  and  the  Chief  Priests  hq,ve 
delivered  Thee  unto  me;  what  hast  Thou  done?"  This,  again, 
put  Christ  on  His  defence,  and  He  answered: 

"My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world;  if  My  kingdom  were  of 
this  world,  then  should  My  servants  fight  that  I  should  not  be 
delivered  to  the  Jews  ;  but  now  is  My  kingdom  not  from  hence." 
This  was  a  denial  of  the  accusation  of  the  Jews — that  He  was  a 
political  revolutionist,  or  had  any  designs  of  establishing  a  king- 
dom opposed  to  Caesar's,  which  was  one  of  the  greatest  crimes 
known  in  Roman  Law. 

Pilate  again  asked,  "Art  Thou  a  king,  tlien?"  And  He 
answered,  "Thou  savest  that  I  am  a  king!     To  this  end  Nvas  I 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  321 

born;  and  for  tins  cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should 
bear  witness  unto  the  truth.  Every  one  who  is  of  the  trutli 
lieareth  My  voice."  This  was  equivalent  to  sayino-,  "If  you  ask 
in  a  political  sense — No,  I  am  no  king;  but  if  you  ask  respecting 
my  inheritance,  nature,  and  mission — Yes,  I  am  a  king. 

And  Pilate  asked,  "What  is  truth?"  not  in  a  jesting  spirit, 
as  Lord  Bacon  supposed,  but  with  a  real  desire  to  know;  because 
it  was  one  of  the  great  questions  that  occupied  the  discussions  of 
the  learned  men  of  that  age.  And  the  Academicians  taught  that 
"probability,  and  the  resemblance  of  truth,  is  the  utmost  men 
can  attain;"  and  Cicero  said,  "There  is  no  subject  on  which 
learned  men  differ  so  strenuously  as  on  the  nature  of  truth." 
No  wonder,  then,  if  Pilate  believed  Christ  a  Prophet  of  the  true 
God,  that  he  asked,  desiring  to  know  how  He  would  define  it. 

Our  Lord  had  really  anticipated  and  answered  Pilate's  ques- 
tion, before  it  was  asked,  by  the  saj'ing,  "Every  one  who  is  of 
Truth  lieareth  My  voice  ;  "  that  is,  every  one  who  is  of  God,  who 
believes  in  the  true  God,  and  the  revelation  He  has  made,  will 
believe  in  Me. 

The  Psalmist  said,  "The  Lord  is  the  God  of  Truth:"  all 
that  God  is  in  and  of  Himself,  is  Truth  ;  all  He  revealed  through 
the  Prophets  and  Christ,  is  Truth;  Jesus  Christ  is  Truth,  as 
God;  all  He  spake  was  Truth,  the  words  v^hich  the  Father 
taught  Him,  and  so  were  infallible  Truth.  St.  John  says,  "  Grace 
and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ;"  He  is  the  only  Man  wlio  ever 
lived  and  never  misrepresented,  or  told  a  lie;  "He  whom  God 
hath  sent  speaketh  the  words  of  God."  Christy  therefore,  stood 
before  Pilate  as  the  embodiment  of  Truth — the  true  God — and 
there  was  a  profound  meaning  in  His  words,  "Every  one  who  is 
of  the  Truth  heareth  My  voice."  And  thus  He  testified  in  Pi- 
late's Court,  exactly  as  He  declared  Himself  before  the  Jewish 
Council — that  He  is  God,  the  Son  of  the  one,  only  living,  and 
true  God;  and  this  was  His  o;ood  confession  before  Pontius  Pi- 


323  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

late;  find  it  was  a  climax  to  tlie  testimony  of  His  enemies,  the 
Pharisees — wlio  pnbliclj'  dec-l;ii-ed  in  the  Temple,  "We  know  that 
Thon  art  trne,  and  teachest  the  way  of  God  in  trnth."  Thongli 
they  confessed  it  with  an  evil  intent,  yet  it  was  believed  l)y  all 
who  knew  Ilim. 

AVhen  Pilate  heard  tliat,  lie  went  ont  to  the  Chief  Priests 
and  Elders,  and  said,  "I  find  no  fanlt  in  Him;"  thus  declaring 
Him  innocent  of  tlic  accnsations  a  second  time,  and  prononncing 
Him  not  uuilty.  "  But,"  said  he,  "yon  have  a  '-nstom  that  I  release 
one  prisoner  nnto  you  at  the  Passover;  will  ye,  therefore,  that  I 
release  unto  yon  the  King  of  the  Jews?"  because  he  knew  tliat 
for  envy,  they  had  brought  Him  to  be  condemned.  And  there 
was  sarcasm,  if  not  jesting,  in  Pilate's  question — calling  Christ 
the  King  of  the  Jews,  when  they  were  publicly  rejecting  Him. 

It  looks  as  if  all  Pilate's  sympathies  were  with  Christ,  and 
he  had  about  decided  to  release  Him,  in  spite  of  the  sentence  of 
the  Sanhedrim.  But,  meanwhile,  recollecting  that  He  had  been 
spoken  of  as  a  Galilean — which  Province  was  under  Herod's 
jurisdiction,  and  He  was  then  in  Jerusalem,  hoping  to  escape 
the  responsibility  of  either  releasing  or  condemning  Hin^, — he 
sent  Him  to  Herod,  who  had  long  wished  to  see  Him,  and 
hoped  to  witness  some  miracle  done  by  Him  ;  the  Chief  Priests 
and  Scribes  went  also,  aiid  violently  accused  Him.  And  Herod 
asked  Him  many  questions,  and  He  answered  none;  and  Herod 
and  his  men  of  war  set  Him  at  nought,  and  mocked  Him,  and 
arrayed  Him  in  a  gorgeous  robe,  and  sent  Him  back  to  Pilate, 
errjbed  as  King  of  the  Jev\s. 

Pilate  then  went  again  to  the  Jews,  and  said,  "You  have 
brought  this  Man  unto  me,  as  one  Who  perverteth  the  people, 
and  behold  I  have  examined  Him  before  .you,  and  lind  no  fault 
in  Him,  touching  those  things  whereof  _ye  accuse  Him;  no,  nor 
yet  Herod,  for  I  sent  you  to  him;  and  lo,  notliing  worthy  of 
death  is  done  unto  Him.     I  will,  therefore,  chastise  and  release 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  323 

Him."  Pilate  declared  their  accusation  not  proven.  That  was 
his  verdict.  But  he  reminded  the  Jews  of  tlie  custom  of  rele;is- 
ing  a  criminal  at  the  Passover,  and  proposed  to  let  Christ  go, 
offering  to  scourge  Him — hoping  to  appease  the  Jews,  and  save 
CJirist's  life.  Eut  he  knew  not  the  extent  of  their  malignity, 
nor  that  God  was  perofiitting  their  wickedness  to  fill  up  its  meas- 
ure, by  causing  the  death  of  His  Incarnate  Son;  and  that  He 
might  accomplish  His  mission  in  dying  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 

But  they  cried  out,  "Not  this  Man,  but  Barabbas,"  who  had 
committed  murder  in  an  insurrection;  and  for  Christ,  they  said, 
"Crucify  Him,  crucify  Him."  But  Pilate  was  yet  determined 
to  release  Him,  and  He  delighted  in  tyranny  over  the  Jews;  and 
a  third  time  he  demanded,  "  What  evil  hatli  He  done  ?  I  have 
found  no  cause  of  death  in  Him."  Pilate  had  showed  increas- 
ing courage  after  Christ's  return  from  Herod;  and  he  again  said, 
"I  will,  therefore,  chastise  Him  and  let  Him  go." 

The  Jews,  seeing  Pilate's  firmness,  were  alarmed;  and  an- 
swered, "We  have  a  law,  and  by  our  law  He  ought  to  die;  be- 
cause He  made  Himself  the  Son  of  God."  AVhen  Pilate  heard 
that,  he  was  more  afraid;  and  went  again  into  the  Judgment 
Hall,  and  saitli  unto  Jesus,  "  When  e  art  Thou?"  But  He  gave 
him  no  answer.  And  here  again  was  fulfilled  the  prophecy — 
first  before  the  Jewish  Court,  then  before  Herod,  and  now  be- 
fore Pilate,  "He  was  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a 
lamb  before  his  shearers  is  dumb,  so  opened  He  not  His  mouth." 
Who,  but  God,  could  have  maintained  silence  under  such  indigo 
nities?  Or  who,  but  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  could  have  so 
fulfilled  the  prophecy  ^ 

Then  Pilate  said  to  Christ,  "Speakest  Thou  not  unto  me? 
Knowest  Thou  not  that  I  have  power  to  crucify  Thee,  and 
power  to  release  Thee  ?  "  Jesus  then  broke  His  silence,  saying, 
"Thou  couldest  have  no  power  at  all  against  Me,  except  it  were 
given  thee  from  above;  therefore,  he  who  delivered  Me  unto 


S24  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

tliee  liatli  tlic  grentcr  sin."  This  shows  how  calm  niid  cool 
Jesus  was  ;  liow  He  saw  through  all  the  scenes  içoing  on  ;  and 
how,  in  His  own  extremity,  He  exercised  that  Divine  courtesy 
to  withhold  the  names  of  Judas  and  Caiaplia? ;  and  it  was  also 
consideration  for  Filate,  because  of  his  efforts  to  release  Him. 

Pilate  thenceforth  sought  to  rescue  Christ  from  the  Jews; 
and  seeing  this,  they  seized  on  a  last  re  sort  to  compel  Pilate  to 
délivrer  Him  to  be  cruciiied.  They  knew  their  man,  and  his 
weakness;  and  how  to  excite  his  fear  and  selfishness,  and  compel 
him  to  jdeld  to  their  demand:  "An!  they  cried  out.  If  thou  let 
this  Man  go,  thou  art  not  Caesar's  friend;  whosoever  maketh 
himself  a  king,  speaketh  against  Cfesar." 

The  Jews  here  shifted  their  accusation  from  the  theological 
crime  of  blasphemy,  to  the  political  crime  of  conspiring  against 
Caeîer;  and  in  this,  Pilate  was  officially  and  personally  involve':!. 
His  moral  conrage  weakene:!,  his  Governorship  was  endangered, 
and  they  carried  their  point  against  liis  determination,  though 
the  accusat'on  w^as  false;  because  Christ  publicly  taught  to  pay 
tri  lu  to  and  honor  to  Cfesar. 

And  Pilate  brought  Jesus  forth,  and  sat  down  on  the  Judg- 
ment Seat,  and  said  to  the  Jews,  "Behold  your  king!"  There  was 
both  anger  and  sarcasm  in  his  words,  because  the  Jews  had  over- 
reached him,  and  he  saw  himself  powerless  against  their  plot- 
ting; and  he  said  this,  as  most  insulting  to  them. 

The  Jews  cried,  "Away  with  Him,  crucify  Him,  crucify 
Him,"  Pilate  said  unto  them,  "Shall  I  crucify  your  king?" 
The  Chief  Priests  answered,  "We  have  no  king  but  Cœsar." 
And  Pilate,  seeing  he  could  prevail  nothing,  but  rather  a  tumult 
was  made,  took  water  and  washed  his  hands  before  tlie  multi- 
tude— as  if  washino;  his  hands  would  cleanse  him  for  vioLitino; 
his  conscience — saying,  "  I  am  innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  Just 
Person.  See  ye  toit."  Thus  the  Jews,  Ciirist's  fo:s,  forced  this 
Roman  Ruler  into  the  position  wh.  re  he  was  made  an  unimpe:;cli- 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  225 

able  witness  for  both  Christ's  innocence,  and  His  royalty  as  the 
King  of  the  Jews. 

But  the  multitude  answered,  "His  blood  be  on  us,  and  on 
our  cliildren."  This  did  not  relieve  Pilate  of  his  responsibility; 
it  was  his  duty  to  preserve  peace,  but  he  had  no  right  to  do  it 
by  illegal  or  unjust  means.  But  he  released  Barabbas  unto  them, 
and  when  Christ  had  been  scourged  he  delivered  Him  to  be  cru- 
cified. The  scourging  was  a  usual  preliminary  before  the  cruci- 
fixion of  great  criminals;  and  no  indignity  was  spared  Jesus, 
wliicli  the  half  barbarou;;!  Roman  customs  allowed.  But  He  pa- 
tiently und  unnnu'muringly  endured  the  indignity  and  suffering, 
"dumb  before  His  shearers."  But  no  power  of  man  could  stay 
the  v/ill  of  God,  and  flis  Christ;  He  had  come  to  do  the  Father's 
will,  and  fulfill  His  promise  and  revelation  to  man.  And  His 
crucifixion  was  essential  to  fulfill  the  prophecies,  and  finish  His 
mission. 

Meanwhile,  another  scene  was  being  enacted  in  the  Temple, 
almost  as  wonderful  as  the  unjust  trials  before  Caiaphas,  and 
Herod,  and  Pilate;  and  is  as  memorable  in  the  world's  history, 
and  the  best  testimony  to  the  Divinity  and  innocence  of  Christ, 
furnished  on  that  remarkable  day — which  was,  the  fulfillment  of 
the  prophecy  of  the  Psalmist,  that  one  of  His  disciples  should 
sell  Him  for  the  price  of  a  slave,  and  die  a  mysterious  death, 
and  leave  his  office  vacant.  Pi-obably,  at  the  time  of  the  morn- 
ing sacrifice,  as  soon  as  Judas  heard  that  the  Sanhedrim  had 
condemned  Jesus  to  death,  he  brought  the  money  to  the  Chief 
Priests  and  Elders,  and  confessed,  "I  have  betrayed  the  innocent 
blood;"  and  he  sealed  the  confession  by  his  tragical  death — 
"went  out  and  hanged  himself" — probably  from  some  high 
place,  and  the  rope  broke — as  St.  Peter  says,  he  "fell  head-long, 
and  all  his  bowels  gushed  out."  Judas  knew  Christ  intimately, 
saw  Him  in  His  most  unreserved  moments,  and  He  could  have 
no  better  witness;  and  God  caused  this  wicked  man's  testimony 


326  LIFEOFCHRIST. 

to  be  eui::raven  into  the  earth,  to  serve  as  a  perpetual  memorial 
of  His  Son's  Divinity  and  innocence.  The  Chief  Priests  took 
the  money,  and  bought  the  Potter's  Field  to  bury  strangers  in  ; 
and  many  years  after,  St.  Matthew  said,  "  It  is  called  the  Field 
of  Blood  to  this  day."  And  all  such  cemeteries  are  now  called 
Potter's  Fields. 

No  liuman  mind  can  imagine  any  l>etter  way  in  whicli  God 
or  man  coidd  li:i\e  nccuinnhited  more  satisfactory  testimony  to 
prove  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  the  Messiah  of  the  Jews,  and  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  For  here  was  Christ's  solenm  declaration, 
under  oath,  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God;  and  the  testimony  of  the 
Cliief  Priests  and  Elders  to  Pilate,  that  He  ouglit  to  die  because 
He  made  Himself  the  Son  of  God.  And  the  fact  that  when 
they  found  Pilate  would  not  condenm  Him,  on  that  accusation — 
after  lie  had  three  times  declared,  "I  find  no  fault  in  Him," 
and  was  determined  to  let  Him  go — tliey  changed  it  to  a  political 
one  whicli  induced  Pilate  to  deliver  Him  to  be  crucilied.  And, 
finally,  Judas  testified  to  Christ's  innocence,  and  sealed  it  with 
his  suicide.  All  these  are  well  known  historical  persons,  known 
to  be  contemporaries  at  the  time  and  place  where  they  figured, 
and  also  that  all  of  them  had  the  veiy  characteristics  by  which 
they  are  represented  in  the  Gospel  ;  and  unitedly  they  concur  to 
prove  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Saviour 
promised  in  the  seed  of  the  woman. 

Then  Pilate  scourged  Jesus  and  delivered  Him  to  the  sol- 
diers, knd  tlu'y  led  Him  away  to  the  Hall,  called  Pretorium,  and 
put  a  crown  of  thorns  on  His  head,  and  a  purple  robe  on  Him, 
inaugurating  Him  as  king  of  the  Gentile  world — for  they  were 
Gentiles  who  did  it;  but  they  saluted  Him,  "Hail,  King  of  the 
Jews."  And  they  smote  Him  on  the  head  with  a  reed,  and 
spit  upon  Him.  And  when  the}^  had  mocked  llim,  they  took 
off  the  purple  robe  from  Him,  and  put  His  own  clothes  on 
Him,  and  led  Him  out  to  crucify  Him."    This  was  the  beginning 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  327 

of  Clu-isfs  coror.ation  as  King,  of  both  the  Jews  and  the  Gentile 
workl. 

These  trials  were  both  unjust  and  unfair;  Christ  suffered  on 
two  different  charges.  The  Sanhedrim  condemned  Him  unjustly 
for  blasphemy;  îind  Pilate  unjustly,  because  the  Jews  accused 
Him  as  an  enemy  to  Cœsar — which,  when  Pilate  examined  Him, 
he  said  was  not  proven  ;  because  Christ  confessed  that  His  king- 
dom was  not  of  this  world.  And  Christ  was  unjustly  condenmed, 
both  by  Hebrew  and  Roman  law,  as  no  sentence  of  death  could 
be  justly  passed  until  the  accused  had  his  accnsors  face  to  face, 
and  two,  at  least,  agreed  in  their  testimony  as  to  His  guilt. 


CHAPTER    XLIl 


THE  CRUCIFIXION. 


Crucifixion  was  by  binding,  or  nailing,  the  pei-son  to  trans- 
verse pieces  of  wood,  called  a  cross;  it  was  a  painful  and  lin- 
gering death,  applied  chiefly  to  slaves  and  great  criminals,  and 
regarded  as  the  greatest  dishonor  by  a  Roman  citizen  or  freed- 
man. 

The  cross  is  probalJy  tlie  oldest  instrument  of  punislnnent, 
and  oldest  emblem  of  suffering  love;  its  origin  is  uid<nown,  but 
it  was  associated  witli  the  first  sacrifice  ever  offered  to  God,  and 
the  first  blood  ever  shed  on  earth,  and  has  always  been  tlie  sym- 
bol of  suffering.  And  tlie  universal  custom  of  sacrifice  among 
ancient  nations,  shows  the  universal  belief  of  mankind,  that 
"without  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of  sins;"  and 
all  sacrifice  looked  forward  by  faith  to  the  coming  of  the  Lamb 
of  God,  through  whom  the  forgiveness  of  sin  was  obtained. 

And  it  is  one  of  the  wonders  of  creation,  that  there  is  visi- 
ble in  the  Southern  hemisphere  the  magnificent  constellation  of 
the  Southern  Cross;  wliich  looks  as  if  God  hung  it  up  thei-e  as  a 
symbol  of  man's  future  redemption,  and  a  token  of  His  Divine 
love,  and  the  suffering  He  would  endure  in  a  human  nature  for 
the  world's  salvation,  and  as  the  means  by  which  He  would  save 
man  from  the  sin  and  death  Satan  introduced  here. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  329 

The  iirst  revelation  of  a  siiffering  Savioiu-  was,  that  Satan 
sliould  bruise  tlie  heel  of  the  woman's  seed;  and  the  first  intima- 
tion tliat  the  suffering  wcmld  be  by  the  cross,  was  in  tlie  institu- 
tion of  Sacrifice  for  the  remission  of  sins.  The  dead  body  of  the 
lamb  represented  the  crucifix,  and  its  anatomy  with  out-stretched 
arms  was  the  cross,  and  the  flesh  and  blood  were  symbols  of  the 
body  aiid  blood  of  the  Laud)  of  God, 

The  first  cross  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  is  that  God  told 
Moses  to  set  up  in  the  wilderness,  on  which  was  lifted  up  the 
brazen  serpent;  and  when  persons  bitten  by  the  venomous  rep- 
tiles looked  on  it,  they  were  saved  alive.  We  know  what  this 
meant;  because  Christ  said  to  Nicodemus,  "As  Moses  lifted  up 
the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be 
lifted  up,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life." 

This  interpreted  the  promise  of  God,  of  a  Saviour  in  the 
seed  of  the  woman,  who  would  bruise  Satan's  head;  and  the 
cress  was  always  before  the  eyes  of  the  Israelites,  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  Pascal  Lamb,  stretched  on  two  sticks,  and  of  the  suf- 
fering to  follow  by  being  roasted  whole  by  fire  ;  which  was  a 
type  of  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God,  the  Lamb  of  God,  suffering 
in  man's  nature,  to  take  away  the  sin  and  death  man  had  brought 
into  this  world,  and  save  him  from  the  unquenchable  fire. 

Our  Lord  used  the  cross  to  express  self-denial,  self-renun- 
ciation, and  self-sacrificing  love  and  obedience  :  "  Whosoever  will 
come  after  Me,  let  him  take  up  his  cross  daily  and  follow  Me." 
And  ever  since  His  crucifixion,  it  has  been  the  symbol  of  His  love 
unto  death  for  us  men,  and  our  only  hope  of  salvation;  and 
there  has  been  no  time  since  when  the  blotting  out  of  this  faith 
and  hope,  would  not  have  filled  the  world  with  despair. 

It  was  the  impotence  of  man's  nature  to  restore  itself  from 
the  ruin  Satan  and  sin  caused,  which  rendered  a  superhuman 
Saviour  essential  ;  and  it  is  the  potency  of  the  Son  of  God  in 


rSO  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

H  perfect  human  nature — without  sin — as  the  God-Man,  that 
made  Ilis  sacrifice  all-sufficient  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world. 

"After  they  had  mocked  Christ,  they  took  the  robe  off  from 
Him,  and  led  Him  away  to  crucifj'^  Him."  Two  malefactors 
went  with  Him  to  a  place  called  Golgotha.  And  as  tliey  came 
out  of  the  city  they  met  a  man  of  Cyi'cne,  named  Simon,  the 
father  of  Alexander  and  Rufus;  his  birth  place  and  parent's 
names  show  that  he  Avas  a  Gentile,  and  they  compel  him  to  bear 
Christ's  cross.  And  there  followed  Him  a  great  company  of 
men  and  women,  who  bewailed  and  lamented  Him  ;  and  to  them 
He  spake  the  only  words  He  is  said  to  have  spoken  on  His  way 
to  Calvary  :  "  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  Avcep  not  for  Me,  but  for 
yourselves  and  your  children.  For,  behold,  the  days  are  coming 
in  the  which  ye  shall  say,  '  Blessed  are  the  barren,  and  the  wombs 
that  never  bare,  and  the  breasts  that  never  gave  suck.'  Then 
shall  they  begin  to  say  to  the  mountains,  fall  on  iis,  and  to  the 
hills,  cover  ns;  for  if  they  do  these  things  in  the  green  tree, 
what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry  tree  ?  " 

There  was  before  the  Saviour's  mind,  sorrows  of  others 
greater  than  His  own,  the  future  judgment  which  His  crucifix- 
ion would  bring  on  the  city  and  its  inhabitants;  if  such  suffering 
was  coming  on  Him  as  the  innocent  Son  of  Man,  the  green  tree, 
what  shall  be  the  end  of  the  ungodly  nation,  the  drj^-dead  tree, 
that  caused  it? 

It  was  no  chance  act  which  brought  Simon  to  meet  the  pro- 
cession that  whs,  leading  Jesus  to  Crucifixion — nor  was  the  cross 
laid  on  Simon  because  Christ  was  unable  to  bear  it;  but  it  was 
a  renewal  of  the  type  of  the  scape-goat  going  with  the  Lamb  of 
God  to  be  offered  in  sacrifice  as  an  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the 
world.  The  first  young  man,  who  fled  naked,  was  a  Jew — the 
scape-goat  of  that  nation;  this  Simon  was  an  old  man,  repre- 
senting the  older  Gentile  nations.  So  the  type  was  doubly  ful- 
filled; and  the  jjarticularitj'  in  giving  the  names  helps  to  prove 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  331 

the  authenticity  and  içenuineness  of  the  narrative,  and  wouh:l 
have  led  to  its  rejection  had  no  such  persons  existed.  Simon 
was  released  wlien  they  arrived  at  Calvary. 

Then  the  soldiers  offered  Jesus  wine  mingled  with  myrrh, 
before  they  began  to  nail  Him  to  the  cross,  as  an  opiate  to  miti- 
gate His  sufferings;  but  He  declined  it.  It  was  the  cup  the 
Father  had  appointed  Him  to  drink,  and  He  drained  it  to  its 
dregs.  TJiis  act  accords  with  all  the  superhuman  self-denial  and 
self-renunciation  of  His  whole  life. 

All  the  Evangelists  are  silent  respecting  that  awful  scene 
of  nailing  the  Saviour  to  the  cross;  its  remembrance  was,  proba- 
bly, too  painful  for  them  to  dwell  upon  or  relate.  But  it  was, 
evidently,  while  the  iron  was  entering  into  His  soul,  that  Pie 
spake  the  first  of  the  seven  sayings  on  the  cross: 

"  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  wliat  they  do." 
Thus  Christ  fulfilled  tlie  prophecy  that  He  would  make  inter- 
cession for  the  transgressors,  and  obeyed  His  own  commandment 
to  forgive  His  enemies  and  pray  for  them  in  tliat  hour  of  inex- 
pressible anguish  of  His  own  souL  He  was  numbered  with 
transgressors,  two  malefactors  being  cruciiisd  with  Him,  one 
on  His  right  hand,  and  one  on  the  left.  And  Pilate  put  the 
inscription  over  His  head,  in  Greek,  Latin,  and  Hebrew — the 
three  languages  most  in  use  among  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  in 
Palestine  : 

JESUS    OF    NAZARETH,    KING    OF    THE    JEWS. 

When  tlie  Chief  Priests  and  Scribes  saw  it,  they  asked 
Pilate  to  change  it  to,  "He  said  I  am  king  of  the  Jews;"  but 
lie  replied,  "What  I  have  written,  I  have  written;"  meaning,  it 
shall  stand  as  it  is;  and  it  looks  as  if  he  insisted  on  tlie  inscrip- 
tion from  a  belief  in  its  truth,  and  as  the  only  reparation  he 
could  make  for  liis  crime  in  delivering  Him  to  be  crucified, 
when  lie  declared  Him  innocent,  and  as  the  only  means  by 
which  he  could  aniioy  thciu  for  compelling  him  to  do  it. 


332  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

JN^ow  there  stood  by  the  cross  Jesus'  mother,  and  Mary,  the 
wife  of  Clcoplias,  and  Maj-y  Magdclene;  and  He  spake  His  sec- 
ond saying  on  the  cross,  wlien  He  saw  His  mother  and  St,  John 
standing  near  lier,  "Woman,  behold  thy  Son;"  and  to  St.  John, 
"Behold  thy  mother;"  and  from  that  hour  he  took  her  to  his 
own  home.  All  Jesus  had  on  the  earth  He  created — and  was 
then  dying  to  redeem — was  His  earthly  Mother,  and  the  few  gar- 
ments that  the  soldiers  were  dividing  among  themselves;  which 
were — an  outer  garment  like  a  toga,  an  inner  jacket,  trowsers,  a 
loose  garment  falling  to  the  ankles,  an  Oriental  turban,  and  san- 
dals. Tiie  soldiers  made  four  parts,  and  divided  all  except  the 
seamless  jacket  among  themselves,  casting  lots  for  that  ;  and  lit- 
erally fulfilling  the  prophecy,  "They  parted  My  garments  among 
them,  and  upon  My  vesture  did  they  cast  lots."  This,  the 
Roman  soldiers  did. 

Tiie  people  looked  in  wonder  on  this  painful  spectacle  ;  and 
the  Chief  Priests  and  Scribes  derided  Hi^  suifering,  saying,  "  He 
saved  others.  Himself  He  cannot  save;  let  Him  save  Himself  if 
He  be  the  Christ,  the  chosen  of  God.  "Others  passed  by,  railing 
and  wagging  their  heads,  saying,  "  Ah  !  Thou  "Who  destroyest 
the  Temple  and  buildest  it  in  three  days,  save  Thyself  and  come 
down  from  the  Cross."  "Let  Christ,  the  King  of  the  Jews,  de- 
scend from  the  cross,  that  we  may  see  and  believe." 

Thus  the  Chief  Priests  and  Scribes,  witnessed  before  Christ 
and  the  multitude,  that  He  who  was  dying  on  the  cross  had 
saved  the  life  of  others;  they  knew  of  the  raising  from  the  dead 
of  Jîdrus'  daughter,  and  the  widow  of  Nain's  son,  and  Lazarus; 
and  yet  were  so  blind  and  hardened  that  they  did  not  see  that 
they  were  making  irrefutable  testimony  to  live  to  the  world's 
end — that  Jesus  Christ  was  tlie  King  of  tiie  Jews,  the  Messiah, 
the  chosen  of  God,  the  long-ex'^^ected  Saviour.  The  soldiers,  also, 
who  crucifi(^d  Him,  mocked  Him — offering  Him  vinegar  to  drink, 
and  saying,  "  If  Thou  be  the  King  of  the  Jews,  save  Thyself." 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  333 

Tlien  finotliei"  remarkable  witness  appeared.  The  two  male- 
factors who  were  crucified  with  Christ  appear  to  have  railed  on 
Hiiu  at  first;  but  when  one  of  them  heard  Him  pray  to  the 
Father  to  forgive  His  murderers,  and  saw  His  patient  suffering — 
and  possil)ly  awed,  also,  by  the  convulsion  of  the  earth,  and  the 
darkening  of  the  Sun — he  believed  Hira  to  be  the  Christ,  wh.om 
the  Chief  Priests  were  rejecting;  and  he  rebuked  the  other  hard- 
ened wretch,  saying,  "Dost  not  thou  fear  God,  seeing  thou  art 
in  the  same  condemnation?  And  we,  justly;  for  we  receive  the 
reward  of  our  deeds;  but  this  Man  hath  done  nothing  ami^s." 
This  was  a  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ,  and  a  confession  of 
his  sins;  and  bearing  witness  to  Christ's  innocence  as  Man,  he 
acknowledged  Him  to  be  the  Lord,  and  prayed  to  Him,  "Lord, 
remember  me,  when  Thon  comest  into  Thy  kingdom."  And 
this  caused  Christ's  third  saying,  "Verily  I  say  nuto  thee,  this 
day  shalt  Thou  be  with  Me  in  Paradise."  It  was  the  sixth  hour, 
or  noon,  and  He  died  at  the  ninth  hour,  and  the  change  of 
worlds  was  sudden;  the  man  was  a  sinner,  but  faith  in  Christ's 
blood,  then  shedding,  cleansed  him.  St.  John's  account  seems 
contradictory,  representing  Christ  before  Pilate  at  the  sixth  hour; 
but  he  agrees  exactly  with  the  other  Evangelists,  because  they 
reckoned  by  Jewish,  and  he  by  Iloman,  time. 

From  that  time  darkness  was  over  all  the  land,  creation 
veiling  itself  before  its  suffering  Creatoi-  ;  the  earth  was  con- 
vulsed, and  darkened  to  hide  the  awful  scene  from  the  sight  of 
men,  and  possibly  fi'om  the  angels.  And  there  is  a  mysterious 
connection  between  sin  and  darkness  of  Avhicli  we  know  nothing, 
only  St.  Paul  said,  "Evil  spirits  are  the  rulers  of  the  Darkness 
of  this  w^orld  ;  "  and  Jesus  said,  when  He  delivered  Himself  to 
the  band,  "This  is  your  hour,  and  the  Power  of  Darkness." 
And  the  Prophet  Joel  said,  "  The  Sun  will  be  turned  into  dark- 
ness, and  the  moon  into  blood,  before  the  great  and  terrible  day 
of  the  Lord  come." 


884  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Hevelation  mentions  a  physical  and  spiritual  darkness;  one 
a  force  in  tli»^  Natural,  and  the  other  in  the  Spiritual  world:  and 
God  said,  "I  form  tlic  Light,  and  I  create  Darkness."  Darkness 
is  not  i-hadow,  nor  the  absence  of  light,  but  a  subtle  force  which 
fills  all  spjice  with  tlie  ether,  as  oxj'gen  and  nitrogen  exist  in  tlie 
air;,  and  it  was  deepened  by  God,  when  the  Sun-liglit  was  ob- 
scured. 

Our  Lord  repeatedly  said,  Satan  had  a  kingdom  of  Darkness 
in  this  world,  and  is  the  Prince  of  this  world,  but  He  had  come 
to  cast  him  out;  and  it  was  his  power  let  loose  on  Christ  for 
the  last  time,  after  He  had  hung  three  hours  in  darkness,  until 
near  the  time  of  the  evening  sacrifice,  when  Satan  ."ssaulted 
Him,  as  the  last  dregs  in  His  cup  of  death,  to  make  him  feel 
forsaken  by  the  Father. 

Then  the  horror  of  the  awful  darkness  of  the  second  death 
fell  on  Christ,  and  He  uttered  with  a  loud  cry  His  fourth  say- 
ing on  the  cross,  "  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken 
Me."  His  human  soul  was  treading  the  wine-press  of  God's 
wrath  against  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  alone;  and  in  the 
very  words  in  which  the  Psalmist  foretold  He  would  express 
the  anguish  of  His  soul^  as  He  drank  the  last  dregs  in  His  cup 
of  suffering,  when  His  soul  was  made  an  offering  for  sin. 

It  was  no  forsaking  by  God,  but  the  beginning  of  that  sink- 
ing, death  pang  which  severs  the  soul  from  the  immortal  spirit's 
union  with  the  mortal  body;  for  only  His  soul  could  die.  His. 
immortal  human  spirit  could  no  more  die,  than  His  immortal 
Divine  spirit — to  -which  it  was  inseparably  united.  In  that  an- 
guish of  soul,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  He  touched  the  deepest  depths 
of  human  woe;  feeling  not  only  tlie  cra&liing  weight  of  the  wliole 
world's  sins,  but  also  all  the  anguish  of  God's  wratli  as  it  will  be 
felt  by  a  lost  spirit  in  Hell — except  only  its  guilt  and  renu^rse. 
And  this  He  did  to  redeem  a  fallen  world,  and  that  He  might 
suffer  the  extremest  injustice  and  cruelty  ever  endured  by  man 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  S35 

from  man  on  earth,  and  feel  the  pangs  of  a  les!:  spirit  in  Hell, 
in  our  own  human  nature;  tliat  all  mankind  might  know  that 
He  will  be  a  merciful  Judge,  when  He  comes  to  judge  the  world 
— that  He  will  by  His  own  experience  know  how  to  make  all 
allowances  for  the  infirmities  of  our  nature,  and  so  all  will  be 
satisfied  with  His  judgment. 

At  tliis  cry,  for  it  was  loud,  some  one  who,  probably,  re- 
membered Malachi's  propliecy — tliat  Elijah  would  appear  before 
the  great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord — expected  him  then  to  de- 
liver Christ,  said,  "Tins  Man  calletli  for  Elias;"  and  lie  ran 
and  filled  a  sponge  with  vinegar,  and  put  it  on  a  reed,  and  gave 
Him  to  drink.  The  rest  said,  "  Let  be  ;  let  us  see  if  Elias  will 
come  to  save  Him." 

Jesus, now  knowing  that  all  things  were  accomplished,  tliat 
all  the  prophecies  but  one  were  fulfilled,  uttered  His  fifth  say- 
ing on  the  cross,  "  I  thirst."  Then  the  Gentile  soldiers  fulfilled 
the  Psalmist's  prediction,  "They  gave  Me  gall  for  My  meat, 
and  in  My  thirst  they  gave  Me  vinegar  to  drink;"  filling  a 
sponge  with  vinegar  and  hyssop,  they  put  it  to  His  mouth,  and 
when  He  re(;eived  it  He  made  His  sixth  saying  on  the  cross,  "  It  is 
finished."  The  work  He  came  to  do  in  the  flesh,  its  humiliation 
and  suffering;  the  life  He  came  to  live,  manifesting  the  power  and 
love  of  the  Father;  the  fulfillment  of  all  the  types  and  prophe- 
cies concerning  Him;,  the  death  He  came  to  die,  and  the  Re- 
demption He  came  to  accomplish,  so  far  as  His  Messianic  office 
as  the  Son  of  Man  was  concerned,  were  finished.  All  sacrifice 
and  all  blood  shedding  for  sin,  was  finished.  And  then  He  ut- 
tered His  seventh  and  last  saying  on  the  cross,  "Father,  into 
Thy  hands  I  commend  My  spirit;"  and  He  bowed  His  head, 
gave  up  His  human  soul  to  death,  His  spirit  was  released  from 
the  body,  and  the  great  salvation  He  came  to  provide  was  ac- 
complis! led. 

B;!t  death  did  not  take  His  soul,  as  it  commonly  does,  irre- 


336  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

spective  of  His  will;  neither  the  nailing  on  the  cross  nor  the 
suffering  caused  it.  But  lie  gave  up  His  life  at  a  particular  mo- 
ment, and  in  an  unusual  way  for  one  crucified.  He  gave  it  np 
voluntarily  as  a  free-will  offering,  crying  with  a  lond  vo'ce — show- 
ing, that  after  all  He  had  suffered,  His  mind  Avas  clear,  His 
physical  powers  were  unexhausted — and  He  bowed  His  head  and 
gave  np  His  soul-life  at  the  very  time  the  la  t  Pascal  Lamb  died. 
The  physical  cause  of  His  death  was,  th  -t  with  that  loud  cry. 
His  heart  was  ruptured,  and  the  soul-life  w^as  suddenly  extinct; 
and  there  He  hung  between  Heaven  and  Earth,  lifted  up  as  the 
victim  who  had  taken  the  world's  sins  on  Himself,  and  His  hu- 
man soul  was  crushed  to  death  by  them. 

God  did  not  lay  this  penalty  on  Christ,  as  an  innocent  vic- 
tim made  to  suffer  for  other's  sms.  Oh!  no;  but  the  Fatlicr  so 
loved  the  world,  that,  through  His  Son,  He  took  on  Himself  the 
world's  sins,  and  caused  the  world's  redemption.  St.  Paul  says, 
"Christ  bore  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree;"  but  it  was 
doing  the  Father's  will  in  which  He  concurred,  and  it  was  God's 
atonement  in  our  nature  which  He  made  because  it  was  impossi- 
ble for  our  salvation  in  any  other  way  ;  and  there  was  no  other 
way  by  which  He  could  make  us  so  sensible  of  His  justice,  love, 
and  mercy,  or  to  become  partakers  of  His  righteousness.  As  St. 
Paul  says,  "  Christ  Jesus,  who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  wisdom 
and  righteousness,  sanctification  and  redemption." 

As  Clirist  gave  up  His  soul  to  death,  the  veil  of  the  Temple 
was  rent  in  twain — signifying  that  the  veil  between  heaven  and 
earth  was  lemt,  and  that  Heavenly  world  was  opened,  as  it  never 
had  been  before;  that  the  veil  which  hung  over  the  Law  was 
removed,  the  veil  of  the  prophecies  concerning  Christ  was  re- 
moved ;  that  the  old  kingdom  was  rent,  and  that  life  and  immor- 
tality were  brought  to  light  in  the  Gospel  ;  and  that  the  old  cov- 
enant in  the  blood  of  animals  and  man  was  abolished,  to  give 
place  to  the  new  covenant  in  the  blood  of  Christ.     It  was  an 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  837 

eartliqutike  which  rent  the  veil,  to  show  it  w^as  God's  act;  and  it 
rent  at  the  same  time  with  the  rocks,  and  opened  tlie  graves  of 
some  saints. 

It  liad  been  a  bnrial  phice,  where  Jesus  was  crucified  ;  and 
some  of  the  graves  remained  open  until  Cln-ist's  resurrection, 
and  tlie  spirits  of  the  depai-ted  appeared  to  many.  Thus  our 
Lord's  most  remarkable  prophecy,  and  most  astounding  miracle,, 
were  fulfilled  and  accomplislied  by  tlie  last  words  He  ever  spake 
in  the  flesh,  and  as  He  died  on  the  cross;  for  He  had  said  to  the 
Apostles,  "Verily,  veril}'^,  I  say  unto  you,  the  hour  is  coming, 
and  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  they  who  liear  shall  live."  These  dead  arose,  not  only 
as  witnesses  to  the  truth  of  Christ's  prophecy,  and  of  His  resur- 
rection, but  also  as  a  proof  of  the  possibility  and  certainty  of  a 
final  resurrection  of  the  dead,  through  Christ  who  raised  them. 

"When  the  Captain  and  the  band  who  assisted  at  the  cruci- 
fixion, saw  these  prodigies  of  darkness,  and  earthquake,  and 
rending  of  the  rocks,  and  opening  of  the  graves — though  they 
saw  not  the  dead,  they  appeared  to  Christians  in  the  city — "they 
feared  greatly,  saying,  truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God."  And 
many  women  standing  afar  off,  who  followed  Jesus  from  Gali- 
lee, ministering  unto  Him;  and  among  whom  were  Mary  Ma<T- 
delcne,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and  Joses,  and  Salome 
the  mother  of  S.  S.  James  and  John.  When  the  Centurion  saw 
it,  he  glorified  God,  saying,  "Certainly  this  was  a  righteous 
Man;"  and  thus  He  gave  his  Gentile  testimony  to  Him  as  Christ, 
the  God-Man. 

"And  all  the  people  who  came  together  to  that  sight,  be- 
holding the  things  which  were  done,  smote  their  breasts,  and  re- 
turned. And  all  His  acquaintances  and  the  women  from  Gali- 
lee stood  afar  off,  beholding  these  things."  Thus  ended  the 
most  awful  tragedy,  and  the  greatest  injustice  ever  enacted  on 
earth.     And  it  would  be  a  monstrous  conclusion,  that  the  Man 

22 


338  LIFEOFCHRIST. 

whose  whole  life  had  been  immaculate  purity,  trutli,  and  right- 
eousness, \vho  condemned  lying  and  hypocricy,  and  wliose  worst 
enemies  publicly  confessed,  "We  know  Tbou  art  true,  and  teach- 
est  the  way  of  God  in  trutli,  neither  carest  Thou  for  any  num," 
siiould  have  died  witli  untruth  on  His  tongue,  Avhen  lie  claimed 
to  be  the  Son  of  God  and — with  the  last  words  He  spake 
on  the  cross — called  God  His  Father,  and  commended  His  spirit 
to  Him, 

Self-sacrifice  is  the  greatest  love  God,  or  man,  can  show; 
and  for  tlie  greatest  sacrifice  one  born  of  woman  ever  did  show, 
Jesus  is  enthroned  in  the  glory  of  the  Godhead.  There  is  no 
deeper  pleasure  our  nature  is  sut^ceptible  of,  than  sacrifices  for 
those  we  love,  or  evxn  for  others  in  distress;  but  God's  love  is 
jYiore — while  we  were  enemies,  He  took  our  nature  to  die  in  it; 
because  in  no  other  way  could  He  show  to  beings  like  ns  tlie  in- 
tensit}'  of  His  love,  and  His  desire  for  our  salvation.  And  the 
way  men  now  are  slow  to  believe  in  His  love,  and  are  swift  to 
cavil  at  it,  prove  that  without  some  such  manifestation  of  His 
self-suffering  love  and  mercy,  we  never  should  have  been  con- 
vinced of  them. 

Nothing  now  remained  to  fulfill  all  the  prophecies  concern- 
ino-  Christ's  crucifixion,  but  the  three  personal  incidents  which 
were  to  follow  it  :  first,  that  not  a  bone  of  Him  should  be  brok- 
en; second,  that  His  body  should  be  pierced  by  a  spear;  third, 
that  He  should  have  His  burial  with  the  rich. 

The  Jews,  therefore — that  the  bodies  might  not  remain  on 
the  cross  on  the  Sabbatli — l)cgged  Pilate  that  their  bones  might 
be  broken,  and  the  bodies  taken  down.  The  soldiers  sent,  brake 
the  legs  of  the  two  thieves;  this  was  to  make  sure  of  tlieir  death, 
and  they  were  yet  alive.  So  Jesus  went  unaccompanied  by  tlie 
penitent  to  Paradise,  for  He  died  three  hours  before  him;  but 
they  met  there  that  day,  and  the  penitent's  translation  must 
have  been  almost  instantaneous.     But  when  they  came  to  Jesus, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  339 

and  saw  He  was  alread}'-  dead,  tlioy  brake  not  Ilis  bones;  but  a 
soldier  pierced  His  side  with  a  spear,  and  water  and  blood  flowed 
out.  It  was  the  cernin  which  surrounds  the  heart;  and  it  was 
impossible,  if  life  remained,  that  it  did  not  then  become  extinct 
— so  sure  it  is,  that  He  died  on  the  cross. 

And  St.  John,  who  witnessed  the  whole  scene,  said,  "  His 
record  is  true;  and  He  knoweth  that  He  saith  truth,  that  ye 
might  believe."  For  these  things  were  done  that  the  Scripture 
might  be  fulfilled:  first,  as  the  type  of  the  Pascal  Lamb,  whose 
bones  God  forbid  to  be  broken;  and  of  the  Psalmist's  prophecy, 
that  not  a  bone  of  Him  shall  be  broken.  And  the  more  remark- 
able prophecy  of  Zachariah,  where  God  says,  foretelling  Christ's 
death,  "They  shall  look  upon  Me,  Wliom  they  have  pierced,  and 
they  shall  mourn  for  Him  " — which,  in  a  mysterious  way,  de- 
clared they  pier'^ed  both  God  and  Man. 

When  the  evening  was  come,  a  rich  man,  Joseph  of  Arima- 
thea — an  honorable  coimsellor,  and  disciple  of  our  Lord,  who 
waited  for  the  kingdom  of  God — went  boldly  to  Pilate  and 
begged  His  body.  Pilate  called  the  Centurion  who  had  charge 
of  the  crucifixion,  and  inquired  if  He  were  long  dead;  and  wlieu 
he  knew  it  certainly,  he  gave  the  body  to  Joseph. 

Apparently  without  concert,  Nicodemus,  another  Ruler  of 
the  Jews — for  both  men  belonged  to  the  Sanhedrhn,  thcugli  they 
did  not  consent  to  Christ's  death — who  was  the  same  man  who 
came  to  our  Lord  by  night  to  learn  of  His  doctrines,  had  pre- 
pared an  hundred  pounds  of  myrrh  and  aloes.  Joseph  liad 
brought  some  fine  linen  ;  and  together  they  wrapped  the  body 
in  the  linen,  with  the  spices,  after  the  custom  of  the  Jews,  to 
prepare  the  rich  for  burial. 

Now,  in  the  place  where  Jesus  was  crucified,  was  a  garden; 
and  in  the  garden,  a  new  sepulchre,  cut  into  the  rock,  w.herein 
no  man  had  been  buried;  and  there  they  put  His  body,  and 
rolled  a  great  stone  to  its  door.     As  the  Seed  of  the  Woman, 


340  LIFE    OF    C  H  R  I  S  i\ 

He  was  tlms  buried  in  the  earth,  as  a  preparation  for  His  resur- 
rection ;  and  His  enemies  so  ordered  it,  tliat  there  never  slioald 
be  any  reasonable  doubt,  but  that  He  was  dead,  buried,  and  rose 
from  the  dead.  It  was  from  a  Garden,  the  fi:st  Adam  was 
driven  for  his  sin;  and  the  earth  was  made  to  bring  fortl» 
tliorns;  and  now  the  second  Adam,  to  remove  the  curse,  liad 
been  crowned  with  thorns;  and  His  dead  boJy  was  laid  to  rest 
in  a  Garden,  wliile  His  spirit  Lad  gone  away  to  a  Heavenly 
Paradise. 

Tlie  Chief  Priests  and  Scribes  went  to  Pilate,  and  said, 
*'  Sir,  we  remember  that  that  Deceiver  said,  while  He  was  yet 
alive,  '  After  three  days  I  will  rise  again.'  Command,  therefore, 
that  the  sepulchre  be  made  sure  until  the  third  day,  lest  His  dis- 
ciples come  by  night,  and  steal  Him  away;  and  say  unto  the  peo- 
ple, He  is  risen  from  the  dead:  so  the  last  error  shall  be  worse 
than  the  first."  These  very  men,  who,  three  days  before,  testi- 
fied in  the  Temple  that  He  taught  God's  truth,  now,  after  He  is 
dead,  accuse  Him  as  a  Deceiver;  but  they  also  bring  to  Pilate's 
notice  His  prophecy,  that,  after  three  days.  He  would  rise  again, 
and  asked  him  to  help  them  prove  that  the  prophecy  will  not  be 
fulfilled.  "Pilate  said  unto  them.  Ye  have  a  watch:  go  your 
way,  make  it  as  sure  as  ye  can."  No  doubt  Pilate  was  anxious 
that  the  prophecy  should  be  fully  tested,  and  to  know  if  it  were 
possible  that  the  Christ,  whom  the  Centurion  assured  Him  was 
surely  dead,  would  rise  again.  "So  they  went  (the  Centurion 
and  band,  which  had  charge  of  the  crucifixion)  and  made  the 
sepulchre  sure,  sealing  the  stone  and  setting  a  watch."  And 
there  were  four  parties  then,  who  did  not  believe  that  Jehus' 
body  would  ever  live  again:  His  own  disciples,  the  Jews,  Pilate, 
and  the  Roman  soldiers.  St.  John  says,  the  disciples  knew  not 
the  Scripture  until  after  the  resurrection,  that  He  should  rise 
again  ;  and  the  Apostle  Thomas  did  not  believe  it  until  some 
days  after  He  had  risen.     Everything,  therefore,  tended  to  c  .;n- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  341 

firm  the  doubt,  rather  than  the  belief;  and  this  shows,  that  to 
this  time,  not  even  the  Apostles  believed,  or  knew,  that  Christ 
was  tlie  second  person  of  the  God-head,  incarnate. 

Meanwhile,  Mary  Magdelene,  and  Mary  the  motlier  of  Joses, 
followed  the  Lord's  body  to  the  tomb,  but  apparently  knew  noth- 
ing of  the  preparations  made  by  Joseph  and  Nicodemus;  because 
when  they  returned,  the}'  prepared  spices  and  ointment,  intend- 
ing to  anoint  His  body  after  the  Sabbath. 


3_*^ 


■         ^^ 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 


CHRIST    IN    PARADISE. 


When  God  created  man,  He  put  him  in  tlie  Garden  called 
Paradise — His  Church,  enclosed  from  the  world — where  he  saw 
and  talked  face  to  face  with  God,  wliere  i^rcw  the  Tree  of  Life, 
and  man  was  to  be  trained  for  Heaven;  for  he  was  immortal, 
and  might  have  exchanged  worlds  witliout  the  corruption  of  his 
body,  had  he  remained  holy.  But  God  knew  man  would  sin, 
be  expelled,  and  die;  and  He  provided  a  Heavenly  Paradise, 
where  Satan  cannot  enter,  nor  man  sin,  or  die,  while  he  is  edu- 
cating for  Heaven. 

Tlie  belief  in  intermediate  abodes  for  tlie  spirits  of  men — be- 
tween Heaven,  Earth,  Hell — where  tliey  wait  a  resurrection  and 
judgment,  is  as  old  as  Adam  :  and  men  have  always  been  cmùous 
to  know  what  awaits  them  there — as  tlie  first  revelation  was  dim, 
and  was  preserved  only  by  tradition,  Enoch,  the  fifth  from 
Adam,  was  translated  because  he  walked  with  God — and  so  it 
must  have  been  to  a  better  world;  and  Job,  Abraham  and  tlie 
Psalmist  speak  of  a  better  life,  and  a  city  of  God,  and  a  Hades. 
Elijah  was  gloriously  translated;  and  the  Chaldeans,  Egyptians, 
and  Orientals  believed  in  such  worlds;  and  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  called  the  kingdom  of  the  dead.  Hades — divided  into 
Elysium  for  the  good,  and  Tartarus  for  the  wicked. 


LIFE    OF    CHE  1ST.  343 

But  it  was  not  until  Chi-ist  came  tliat  tlie  nature  of  these 
abodes  WHS  revealed:  that  Hades  is  the  general  name  for  the 
prison  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked — one  division  called  P;  r- 
adise,  the  other  Tartarus;  and  both  knowing  what  will  be  their 
fate  wlicn  Chi'ist  conies  to  judge  them — the  righteous  growii  g 
in  rigliteousness,  and  the  wicked  in  wickedness  and  liopelcss 
despair. 

Christ  told  the  Jews  and  His  disciples  that  He  would  be 
absent  from  them  three  days  after  His  death,  but  He  did  not 
tell  them  where;  but  on  tlie  cross,  He  said  to  the  penitent, 
"This  day  thou  shaL  be  with  Me  in  Paradise."  Friday  evening, 
He  was  buried;  Saturday,  He  lay  in  the  tomb;  Sunday  morn- 
ing. He  returned  and  raised  His  body.  Light  and  electricity 
travel  thousands  of  miles  a  second,  and  a  spirit  must  exceed  it, 
as  we  flash  thought  to  the  remotest  worlds  by  an  impulse  of  the 
will.  After  Christ's  resurrection,  the  disciples  leai-ned  from 
Him  many  things  respecting  the  departed:  that  death  works  no 
change  in  our  consciousness  or  identity;  that  the  saints  are  in 
creasing  in  knowledge,  because  He  preached  to  them  and  taught 
them  how  to  live  in  the  spirit,  according  to  the  revelations  He  had 
made  on  Earth.  And  the  saints  before  Noah,  who  we^e  "some- 
times disobedient,"  were  not  the  reprobate — because  He  did  not 
go  to  that  part  of  Hades,  where  the  wicked  are — there  were  no 
saints  who  had  not  been  "sometimes  disobedient."  And  tliese 
were  named,  to  teach  that  His  salvation  reached  to  all  the  saints 
eince  time  began. 

And  as  Christ  met  and  knew  the  penitent,  and  he  knew 
Him  there,  and  could  teacli  the  saints  "wdiat  He  had  done  on 
earth — neither  had  changed  their  identity,  or  capacity  to  know 
and  learn — so  must  it  be  with  all  the  saints;  and  relatives  and 
friends  must  there  be  able  to  communicate  all  that  transpired 
on  earth,  during  their  separation.  And  the  saints  know  what 
goes  on  over  all  our  world  better  tlian  we  do,  with  our  steam 


C44  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

and  tele<::;rapliic  mcd'nms;  because  there  is  a  continuai  influx  of 
ilei)artini:;  spirits  into  tlioso  intermediate  uljodes,  Iruin  every  part 
of  our  globe. 

Death  causes  no  change  in  the  nieniory  or  feelings.  Christ 
represented  Dives  in  Hades,  suffering  himself,  and  anxious  that 
liis  bretliren  might  be  saved  from  his  "place  of  torment;"  douBt- 
h'ss  all  tlie  faculties  are  intensely  expanded,  and  adapted  to  that 
liigher  life  and  its  mysteries.  And  after  Christ's  glorification 
in  Heaven,  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  more  ricldy 
given  to  the  saints  in  Paradise — as  it  was  to  tlie  Church  on 
Earth — be('-au£e  St.  Peter  sp.ys,  He  preaclied  to  them,  that 
"tliey  might  live  according  to  God  in  tlie  Spirit."  And  St. 
Paul  was  caught  up  into  Paradise,  and  saw  and  heard  things 
he  was  not  permitted  to  reveal;  and  St.  John,  in  a  vision,  saw 
the  light  of  Christ's  glory  from  Heaven,  filliiig  that  world 
with  light,  as  sunlight  falls  here  in  billowy  mists  from  the 
Sun. 

Christ's  resurrection  and  teaching  revolutionized  the  world's 
opinion  respecting  the  state  of  the  departed,  plucked  out  death's 
sting,  and  proved  that — as  we  close  our  eyes  on  time — we  see 
angels  come  to  convey  us  to  Paradise.  Tlie  Te  Deum  represents 
the  saints  worshipping  God,  as  they  did  on  eartli,  but  with  greater 
spiritmd  joy.  Here,  we  are  working  out  our  salvation;  there,  they 
are  pi-aising  God — that  it  is  sure. 

Our  real  life  does  not  depend  on  soul,  bod)',  or  matter,  but 
on  the  immortal  spiritual  body;  and  that  will  not  be  perfected 
until  it  is  united  to  the  resurrection  spiritualized  l)ody.  Here, 
the  material  body  grows  old,  and  dies  ;  and  here,  it  sins  and 
suffers.  But  there,  the  spirit  is  raised  above  the  power  of  sin, 
Satan,  and  death,  and  grows  in  grace  and  knowledge  that  pre- 
pare it  for  resurrection  and  ascension  to  Heaven.  Meanvvliile, 
in  Paradise,  the  saints  know  all  whom  they  had  known  and  loved 
on  earth,  who  had  gone  before  them;  and  they  are  watching, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  345 

waiting,  and  praying  for  them — wondering  liow  long  it  will  be 
before  they  come  to  them. 

Probably  no  human  mind  can  imagine  tlie  rapture  which 
fills  the  spirit,  wlien  released  from  the  body  and  soul — as  it  finds 
itself  borne  aloft  through  the  solemn  star  depths,  and  solar  sys- 
tems, far  more  vast  and  glorious  than  our  own,  knowing  that  hi; 
salvation  is  sure,  and  he  is  on  the  way  to  a  Heavenly  Paradise. 
And  what  new  wonders  burst  on  the  vision,  as  that  new  world 
is  seen,  and  he  enters  its  glorious  portals,  and  finds  it  filled  with 
the  beatific  presence  of  Christ's  glorified  humanity;  and  then, 
falling  down  with  the  saints,  he  adores  and  praises  God  for  His 
creating,  redeeming,  and  sanctifying  love. 

The  Christian  finds  himself  no  stranger  there;  welcomed  by 
those  he  never  ceased  to  love,  instantly  endued  with  spiritual 
intuition,  he  knows  tlie  saints  of  all  ages,  and  learns  from  them 
all  the  world's  past  history,  and  something  of  the  mysteries  oi 
God,  acquired  by  thousands  of  years'  studies  in  that  Heavenly 
world.  Nothing  is  strange  in  the  worship;  the  training  in  the 
Church  on  earth  has  fitted  him  for  the  service  there  ;  and  ho 
awakens  as  from  a  lovely  dream  to  the  reality  of  what  he  had 
sometimes  imagined,  or  had  a  faint  foretaste  of  on  earth.  He 
joins  in  the  same  chants  and  doxologies  to  Christ  and  the  most 
Holy  Trinity,  the  same  ]:)rayers  and  praises  which  he  had  learned 
on  earth  ;  eats  of  the  Tree  of  Life,  and  learns,  by  experience, 
the  blessedness  of  the  communion  of  the  saints;  and  loves  God 
more  and  more  for  the  new  hopes  of  the  greater  eternal  glory 
and  bliss  which  await  him  in  Heaven. 

Our  Lord  said  nothing  to  the  sinner  who  had  reviled  Him 
on  the  cross;  but  he,  too,  was  as  suddenly  translated  to  Hades. 
He  saw,  by  the  angels  who  came  to  conduct  him,  that  hie  doom 
was  sealed  ;  and  a  horror  of  remorse  must  have  seized  him  be- 
fore he  entered  the  prison  of  evil  angels  and  men,  and  found 
himself  among  devils,  and  all  the  vilest  of  mankind — who,  liko 


346  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

liim,  had  rejected  the  mercy  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  provided 
in  Christ.  There,  too,  he  hus  ever  since  been  growing  in  enmity 
to  God,  and  fitting  himself  for  condemnation  to  that  world  where 
the  worm,  that  has  begun  to  gnaw  him,  will  never  die  ;  and 
that  spiritual  fire,  which  has  begun  to  burn  hinj,  will  never  bo 
quenched. 

Such  is  the  revelation  Christ  has  made  respecting  the  two 
conditions  of  man's  life  after  death,  and  the  judgment;  this  doc- 
trine has  been  held  by  His  Church  from  His  day  to  our  own, 
though  it  began  early  to  be  corrupted.  And  it  is  consonant  to 
human  reason;  because,  in  all  times,  savage  and  civilized  men 
have  believed  in  a  future  life,  and  in  rewards  and  punishments 
for  deeds  done  here.  It  is  reasonable;  because,  if  God,  who 
created  us,  be  wise  and  just,  and  Ave  are  iunnortal,  then  it  is 
reasonable  that  He  would  reward  and  punish  for  deeds  done 
here,  and  right  the  wrongs  and  injustice  never  righted  here. 

Moreover,  if  the  righteous  went  to  Heaven,  and  the  wicked 
to  Hell,  when  they  died,  there  would  be  no  need  of  a  resurrec- 
tion, or  future  judgment — because  they  would  be  already  judged; 
so  that  there  must  be  intermediate  places  of  abode  for  both,  un- 
til the  resurrection.  And  it  is  the  loss  of  this  doctrine,  which 
has  caused  so  much  error  and  confusion  in  Christendom,  respect- 
ing the  state  of  the  dead — some  supposing  it  an  interval  of  sleep, 
and  others  that  there  is  a  Purgatorial  cleansing  before  the  resur- 
rection. 

There  is  no  intimation  of  either  in  the  Gospel.  God  is  not 
the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living;  and  it  was  not  until  the 
second  century,  that  Tertullian  broached  the  doctrine  that  Chris- 
tians must  be  purged  by  fire,  before  entering  Hoavci! — a  mon- 
strous doctrine,  because  it  detracts  from  the  all-sufficiency  of 
Christ's  atonement.  Then,  two  centuries  later,  A.  D.  424,  St. 
Augustin,  of  Hippo,  improved  on  the  theory,  by  the  suggestion 
that  it  would  take  place  between  death  and  tlie  resurrection  ;  and 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  347 

the  theory  grew  gradually  for  nearly  two  centuries  more,  until 
A.D.  GOO,  when  Pope  Gregory  the  Great,  established  it — as  far 
as  he  was  able — as  an  article  of  faith;  and  tried  to  prove  it  by 
stories  of  departed  spirits,  who  were  said  to  have  returned  from 
Purgatory,  and  related  their  sufferings.  But  it  took  four  hun- 
dred years  more  before  Pope  John  XYIII,  A.  D.  1000,  insti- 
tuted a  day  to  pray  for  all  souls  in  Purgatory  ;  when  no  human 
soul  ever  went  there,  or  any  where  else,  at  death,  but  to  die,  and 
end  its  being.  And  it  was  four  hundred  years  after  that,  A.  D. 
1439,  before  the  Council  of  Florence  made  it  an  Article  of 
Faith,  and  changed  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  Hades  into  the 
human  theory  of  Purgatory. 

St.  Paul  says,  "There  is  a  natural  body,  and  there  is  a 
spiritual  body;"  the  natural  body  is  but  the  sheath  which  holds 
the  immortal  spiritual  body;  and  to  depart  from  the  natural 
body  is  to  be  present  with  the  Lord.  But  how  that  is,  or  what  is 
the  nature  of  the  presence,  he  did  not  reveal.  But  we  do  know^ 
from  His  promise  to  the  penitent  thief,  that  the  departure  of  the 
spirit  from  its  earthty  body  does  not  impair  any  of  the  functions 
of  the  immortal  spiritual  body.  There  is  no  loss  by  the  death 
of  the  soul,  of  any  attribute  of  the  spirit,  or  any  faculty  belong- 
ing to  the  personal  Ego,  or  moral  and  intellectual  being;  but  all 
the  powers  are  vastly  increased,  and  the  laws  of  the  material 
world  no  longer  control  it.  The  putting  off  the  fleshly  body, 
effects  the  spirit  as  little  as  the  removal  of  its  clothing 
effects  the  natural  body;  and,  doubtless,  an  infant,  suddenly 
translated  to  Paradise,  would  soon  learn  there  more  of  the  mys- 
teries of  God,  and  of  eternity,  than  all  that  was  ever  known  by 
all  the  saints  on  earth.  An  infant  feels  the  power  of  Christ's 
life,  without  any  consciousness  of  it,  in  regeneration  ;  and  we 
may  be  sure  it  feels  it  consciously  in  Paradise,  because  it  no 
more  requires  His  visible  presence  there  to  impart  spiritual 
knowledge  and  grace,  than  it  does  on  earth. 


348  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

The  saints  in  Paradise  are  still  a  part  of  Christ's  kingdom; 
they  arc  tlie  great  van  of  the  army  of  the  redeemed  of  our  race, 
who  ]i!ivo  fiuislied  their  course  on  earth,  in  faith,  and  have  gone 
so  far  on  their  way  to  Heaven — because  Christ  went  tliere  be- 
fore His  ascension  to  Heaven.  And  they  are  waiting  for  the 
rear  of  the  army — yet  fighting  in  tlie  Church  Militant — to  come 
up  and  join  t!;em,  before  the  resurrection,  when  they  will  go 
with  Him,  in  His  triumphal  entry  into  His  kingdom  in  Heaven. 
Tlie  doctrine  is,  therefore,  practical  for  our  encouragement  and 
warning.  Such  is  the  marvellous  lesson  we  have  learned,  from 
the  revelations  made  by  our  Divine  Lord,  respecting  the  departed 
in  the  interval  between  death  and  the  resurrection. 

However  righteously  the  saints  lived,  all  were  sinners,  and 
none  were  fit  for  Heaven  when  they  died;  and  yet,  none  needed 
any  Purgatorial  cleansing  except  what  comes  from  Christ's  blood, 
and  the  j^urging  the  old  sinful  body  receives  through  deatli  and 
the  grave.  But  all  need  more  righteousness  and  knowledge  to 
fit  them  for  Heaven,  and  that  is  what  they  acquire  in  the  Heav- 
enly Paradise.  And  on  the  last  legal  Jewish  Passover  and  Sab- 
bath ever  celebrated  on  earth,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  with 
the  saints  in  Paradise  ;  the  wliole  system  of  Judaism  was  dead, 
and  buried  with  Him;  and  a  new  epoch  of  enlightenment  was 
was  about  to  begin  in  Paradise,  and  on  eartli,  with  His  resurrec- 
tion. Because,  He  taught  the  saints  how  to  live  according  to 
the  spirit;  and,  after  His  ascension  to  Heaven,  sent  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  teach  them  and  His  disciples  also,  and  lead  them  into 
truth  by  the  Spirit. 

Thus  we  learn  that  Hades  is  the  State  Prison  of  God,  hav- 
ing one  department  called  Paradise  where  the  righteous  are,  both 
waiting  for  Christ  t^  come  to  judgment,  and  knowing  what  their 
fate  will  be;  St.  Peter  speaks  of  all  as  ''Hois  en  Plmdake pneu- 
masi;^^  and  that  Christ  did  not  go  to  Tartarus,  shows  the  Giite 
of  Hope  is  shut  from  all  the  wicked  in  that  world  of  woe. 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 


CHRIST'S   RESURRECTION. 


The  doctrine  of  the  resun'ection  of  man's  body  is  a  revela- 
tion from  God,  as  old  as  his  fall  and  sentence  of  death;  but  at 
first  dimly  promised  in  a  Saviour,  in  the  seed  of  the  woman, 
wIiosG  heel  Satan  would  bruise,  and  who  would  bruise  Satan's 
head,  by  His  resurrection  from  death — the  heel  being  a  symbol 
of  death;  and  the  head,  of  life.  But  that  seed,  like  all  others, 
had  to  grov/,  before  the  nature  of  its  fruit  would  be  known  to 
have  the  power  of  a  resurrection  to  an  endless  life. 

Many  laws  and  types  in  the  natural  world  taught  the  prob- 
ability of  man's  resurrection:  the  yearly  decay  and  renewal  of 
vegetation — the  apparent  death  of  seed  sown,  and  its  resurrec- 
tion ;  the  enfolding  of  insects  in  their  shrouds,  or  burying  them- 
selves in  the  earth,  to  come  forth  again  with  higher  forms  of  life 
and  beauty,  and  powers  of  motion  ;  and  seeing  all  that,  man 
could  not  but  believe,  without  any  other  revelation,  that  God 
would  restore  all  these  lower  forms  of  life,  and  not  restore  him, 
created  in  His  OAvn  image  and  likeness. 

An  intimation  of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  runs 
through  all  God's  revelation,  growing  into  greater  clearness 
from  Adam  to  Christ.  Enoch  was  translated  from  this  world, 
because  he  pleased  God — but  none  knew  how  he  was  taken;  but 


250  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

he  propliccied  that  thorc  would  be  a  resnrrcction,  and  jiK^gmcnt 
by  Clirist.  Elijah  went  up  at  noon-day,  in  a  Ileavenly  Chariot. 
Job  expressed  liis  faith,  that  "out  of  liis  flesh,  he  would  see 
God."  Abraham  looked  for  a  city,  built  by  God.  And  the 
Psalmist  foretold  that  Clirist's  body  would  neither  sec  corrup- 
tion, nor  be  left  in  Hades.  The  Jewish  Church's  festival  of  the 
first- fruits,  taught  the  doctrine.  The  bodies  of  Enoch  and  Elijah 
were  doubtless  resolved  into  the  elements,  v/ithout  the  usual  pro- 
cess of  decomposition;  and  only  their  spirits  entered  Paradise. 

The  nations,  without  a  written  revelation  from  God,  pre- 
served some  kr.owledge  of  the  resurrection,  by  tradition.  Brah- 
ma was  a  God  sprung  from  a  Divine  seed;  and  the  ancient  classic 
Gods  are  represented  as  Deified  men,  or  men  made  immortnl  by 
sacrifice,  as  men  are  by  death  and  the  resurrection.  And  Tarta- 
rus and  Elysium  were  the  abodes  of  the  spirits  of  good  and  bad 
men  waiting  a  general  judgment. 

The  Pagans  lost  the  knowledge  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
body,  but  everywhere  retained  belief  in  the  future  existence  of 
man's  spirit;  and  when  Christ  came,  the  Sadducces  denied  it. 
TJiere  is  a  reasonable  probability,  if  man  dei-ivcd  his  spiritual 
life  from  God,  in  a  created  body,  and  the  soul  and  body  die  for 
sin,  and  the  spirit  is  to  live  forever,  that  it  will  be  restored  to  tlie 
body;  because  that  participated  in  the  good  and  evil  done  liere, 
and  so  should  share  in  the  rewards  and  punishments  hereafter. 

Our  Lord's  miracles  in  raising  a  child  just  dead,  and  a  young 
man  carried  out  to  burial,  and  a  man  already  buried — in  whom  it 
Wiis  supposed  decomposition  had  begun — were  proofs  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  the  raising  of  the  bodies  of  the  wliole  race;  while  His 
own  resurrection  is  represented  as  the  type  and  pledge  of  such  a 
resurrection.  And  He  solemnly  declared  that  all  who  are  in  the 
graves  shall  one  day  hear  His  voice,  as  the  Son  of  Man;  and 
shall  come  forth  to  be  judged,  and  rewarded  or  punished  by 
Him,  for  the  deeds  done  here.     And  whatever  doubts  may  hang 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  351 

over  the  actual  death  of  those  He  raised,  there  is  no  doulDt,  if 
we  can  believe  anythinjjj  on  God's  word  an  1  man's  testinionv, 
that  Jesus  died  on  the  cross;  tliat  11  is  dea.d  body  Liy  three  days 
in  the  tomb,  while  His  spirit  was  absent  from  it;  and  wlien  His 
spirit  returned,  it  was  alive  again  in  a  more  glorious  body,  which 
was  no  longer  visible  to  liuman  eyes,  without  a  miraculous  man- 
ifestation of  His  form.er  humanity,  and  was  not  subject  to  the 
laws  of  matter. 

On  the  Feast  of  Dedication  of  the  Temple,  several  months 
before  Christ's  crucifixion,  He  publicly  announced  His  death  and 
resurrection,  and  said,  "I  have  power  to  lay  my  life  down,  and 
power  to  take  it  again;"  and  He  foretold  the  time  His  body 
would  lay  in  the  tomb. 

Both  Pilate  and  the  Jews  assured  themselves  of  His  death 
and  burial,  and  sealed  the  tomb;  and  set  a  watch  to  guard  it, 
that  there  should  be  no  deception  respecting  His  resurrection. 
And  nothing  seemed  more  probable,  than  that  both  His  life  and 
religion  had  perished. 

On  the  tliird  day,  the  women  went  to  tlio  tomb,  carryino- 
spices  to  anoint  His  body — wondering,  as  they  went,  who  would 
roll  away  the  stone  from  the  door.  And,  as  they  went,  there 
was  an  earthquake — as  Ciirist  arose,  before  the  sepulchre  was 
opened.  And  when  the  women  came,  they  saw  an  angel  at  the 
tomb,  who  had  rolled  away  the  stone,  and  sat  on  it;  and  they 
were  afraid.  And  he  said  to  them,  "Fear  not,  for  I  know  ye 
seek  Jesus,  who  was  crucified;  wliy  seek  ye  the  living,  among 
the  dead  ?  He  is  risen,  He  is  not  here  ;  come  and  see  the  place 
where  the  Lord  lay."  The  angel  called  Christ  the  Lor  î — liis 
Lord  as  well  as  ours;  and  he  had  rolled  away  the  stone, not  that 
Christ  might  rise,  but  that  the  disciples  could  look  into  the  tomb, 
and  see  where  He  had  lain.  And  he  reminded  them  of  His  pi-om- 
ise,  that  He  would  rise  the  third  dny,  and  told  them  to  tell  the 
disciples  He  had  risen,  and  they  should  see  Him  in  Galilee. 


353  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Menn^'-liile,  the  terrified  soldiers  fled  to  the  city,  and  told 
tliat  Ciirist  had  risen;  and  the  rulers  brihed  them  to  say  His 
disciples  came  hy  night,  and  stole  Him  away  while  they  slept. 
And  they  took  the  money,  and  did  as  they  were  told.  The  other 
women  went  to  tell  the  disciples,  but  Mary  remained  at  the  tomb, 
weeping;  and  looking  in,  she  saw  two  angels  in  white,  at  the 
head  and  foot  of  the  place  where  the  Lord's  body  had  lain.  And 
they  said  to  her,  "Why  weepest  thou?  She  replied,  Because 
the}^  have  taken  the  Lord's  body  away,  and  I  know  not  where 
they  have  laid  Him." 

As  she  spake,  she  turned,  and  saw  a  man,  whom  she  sup- 
posed was  the  gardener;  and  He  asked,  "Why  weepest  thou? 
And  she  said.  Sir,  if  thou  liast  taken  Him  away,  tell  Me  where 
He  is,  and  I  will  take  Him  away."  Though  our  Lord  appeared 
to  His  disciples  many  times  after  His  resurrection,  it  was  never 
in  His  resurrection  body;  but  always  under  some  other  guise,  or 
by  a  miraculous  assuming  of  His  fleshly  body.  This  man  said 
to  her,  "Mary" — it  was  the  familiar  tone  of  His  human  voice, 
and  she  knew  it,  and  turned,  and  said  in  her  provin-ial  Ara- 
maen  dialect,  "Rabboni,  O  my  Master!"  And  He  answered, 
"Touch  Me  not,  for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  My  Father;  but 
go  and  tell  My  brethren,  I  ascend  unto  My  Father,  and  to  your 
Father,  to  My  God,  and  your  God."  The  forbidding  to  touch 
Him  denoted  that  He  was  no  longer  MÙth  His  disciples,  as  for- 
merly; and  until  He  M'as  glorified  in  the  God-head,  He  would 
not  be  with  them  in  His  spiritual  presence,  as  He  had  promised. 

Meanwhile,  the  other  women  went  and  related  to  the  Apos- 
tles all  that  they  had  heard;  but  their  words  seemed  like  idle  tales, 
and  they  did  not  believe  them.  But  Peter  and  John  hurried  to 
the  tomb,  and  saw  Mary,  who  told  them  the  Lord  is  risen  ;  and 
the  two  disciples  ran,  and  John  arrived  first,  and  looking  in,  saw 
the  tomb  empty.  But  Peter  went  in,  and  saw  the  linen  that  had 
wrapped  the  Lord's  body,  and  the  napkin  that  had  been  nbout 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  353 

His  head  carefully  folded  and  laid  aside;  and  John  then  entered 
and  saw  and  believed;  for,  as  yet,  they  knew  not  the  Scripture, 
that  He  should  rise  again."  Tiien  they  believed  that  Fie  was 
the  Christ,  "the  Resurrection  and  the  Life." 

This  candid  confession,  that,  after  so  much  as  Christ  had 
said  to  them  respecting  His  resurrection,  they  did  not  Icnow  it 
would  take  place  until  tliey  saw  the  empty  tomb,  shows  that  they 
had  no  desire  to  conceal  anything  damaging  to  Christ,  or  them- 
selves; and,  certainly,  would  not  relate  anything  untrue. 

Thus,  an  angel,  Roman  soldiers,  Christ's  disciples,  the  bribery 
of  the  Rulers  of  the  Jews,  united  their  testimony  to  Christ's  resur- 
rection. And  all  this  was  published  over  the  whole  world,  while 
some  of  the  actors  in  that  scene  lived,  and  it  was  never  refuted; 
but  unbelievers  have  said  it  was  probably  denied  at  the  time,  and 
Christians  may  have  destroyed  the  refutation.  But  there  is  no 
prol)ability  of  it;  because  the  Jews  were  as  much  inter  sted,  and 
had  better  facilities  to  destroy  the  Christian  records,  than  Chris- 
tians had  to  destroy  theirs.  And  history  testifies  against  the 
theory,  because  the  writings  of  the  enemies  of  Christianity  have 
survived,  like  Max.  Tyrius,  M.  Antonius,  Celsus,  Plotinus,  and 
others;  while  the  writings  of  the  Apologists,  like  Aristides,  Quad- 
ratns,  Apollinarus,  Melito,  and  others,  have  perished. 

Three  Evangelists  say  Christ  rose  on  ri)  de  jxia  rœv  <iaji§à- 
TCûv  not  the  first  day  of  the  week,  but  on  the  first  of  the  Sabbaths; 
because  then,  and  ever  since,  Jews  and  Christians  have  each  kept 
tlieir  own  day  of  rest.  And  Clirist  rose  on  the  original  seventh 
day,  when  God  rested  from  the  work  of  creation,  which  was  put 
back  one  day  when  the  Israelites  departed  from  Egypt,  to  com- 
memorate their  deliverance — the  type  of  Christ's  redemption — 
and  so  the  Lord's  day  has  ever  since  been  the  memorial  of  Crea- 
tion, of  the  deliverance  of  His  people  from  the  bondage  in 
Egypt,  and  of  Christ's  resurrection  and  the  world's  redemption — 
and  the  Jews  yet  hold  fast  to  the  other. 

23 


354  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

Such  is  the  Scriptural  liistory  of  Christ's  rcfiirrection,  and 
tlicre  was  other  reiuaikal)lc  testimony  that  day,  to  its  trntli;  for 
towards  evening,  two  disciples — Cleophas,  and  it  is  snj^posed 
St.  Luke — were  on  the  road  to  Emmans,  wlien  a  stranner  over- 
took thcni  as  they  walked,  and  said,  "What  manner  of  conver- 
sation is  it  ye  have,  as  ye  walk,  and  are  sad?"  And  Cleophas 
answered,  "Art  thou  only  a  stranger  in  Jerusaleni,  and  knowest 
not  the  things  which  have  come  to  pass  here?  And  He  saiti, 
"What  things?  They  replied,  concerning  Jesus  of  Xaz;ireth,  a 
prophet,  mighty  in  deeds  and  words  before  God,  and  all  the  peo- 
ple, whom  the  Chief  Priests  crucified;  but  we  trusted  it  was  He 
who  would  deliver  Israel,  and  to-day  is  the  third  day  since  it  was 
done." 

The  prophecy  that  Christ  would  rise  the  third  day  has  been 
caviled  at  as  unfulfilled;  but  liere  are  living  witnesses  of  the 
age,  who  knew  Jewish  reckoning,  who  said  it  was  the  third  day 
after  His  crucifixion  ;  and  they  told  Christ  of  the  report  of  the 
angels,  who  said  He  had  risen.  They  show  their  doubts  of  His 
Messiahship,  call  Him  a  prophet  mighty  in  deed  and  word,  and 
candidly  say  they  had  hoped  it  was  He  who  would  deliver  Israel. 
Nothing,  in  the  world's  romance  or  fi(;tion,  ever  showed  such  a 
consistent  story  as  this. 

And  He  said  to  them,  "O!  fools,  and  slow  of  heart  to  be- 
lieve all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken:  ouglit  not  Cln-ist  to 
have  suffered  these  things,  and  to  enter anto  His  glory?  And, 
l)egiiming  at  Moses  and.  all  tlie  prophets.  He  expounded  unto 
them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  concerning  Himself."'  This 
is  the  second  time  our  Lord  is  said  to  have  spoken  after  His  res- 
u.rection:  first,  at  the  grave  in  the  morning,  telling  Mary  to  go 
and  tell  His  disciples  that  He  had  risen  ;  and  now,  calling  Him- 
self the  Christ,  and  explaining  the  prophecies  concerning  Him- 
self. 

"When  they  drew  nigh  to  the  village,  He  made  as  if  He 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  355 

would  go  further;  but  they  persuaded  Him  to  come  in  ;uid 
abide,  because  the  day  was  far  spent.  And  He  did  so;  and  when 
they  sat  at  meat — bread  and  wine  were  tlie  usual  food  at  supper 
— He  took  bread,  and  blessed  it,  and  brake,  and  gave  to  them. 
And  their  eyes  were  opened,  and  He  vanished  out  of  their  siglit. 
Tliis  was  evidently  a  I'enewal  of  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper — He  blessed  it,  and  made  it  eucharistical;  and  it  had  tlic 
sacramental  grace,  to  make  them  better  know  the  Lord.  Tlieu 
they  recalled  how  their  hearts  burned  at  His  presence,  while  He 
talked  with  them,  and  explained  the  Scriptures  by  the  way.  And 
they  returned  to  the  ten  Apostles  at  Jerusalem — for  Thomas 
was  absent — and  told  them  the  Lord  had  risen,  and  appeared  to 
Peter,  and  what  had  happened  to  them.  And  while  they  were 
speaking,  Jesus  Himself  stood  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said, 
"Peace  be  unto  you.''  P>ut  they  were  terrified,  and  supposed 
Him  to  be  a  spirit.  And  He  said  unto  them,  "Why  are  ye 
troubled?  And  why  do  thoughts  arise  in  your  hearts?  Behold 
My  hands  and  My  feet;  it  is  I  Myself."  The  disciples  were  glad; 
and  He  said  again,  "  Peace  be  unto  you  ;  as  My  Father  hath 
sent  Me,  even  so  send  I  you;"  and  He  breathed  on  them,  and 
said,  "Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost:  whosoever  sins  ye  remit,  they 
are  remitted;  and  whosoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained." 

Thus  the  two  great  acts  of  this  day  were,  to  open  His  disci- 
ples' minds  to  understand  the  Scriptures,  and  to  empower  them 
to  act  as  His  successors  until  the  Holy  Ghost  came — and  em- 
powered them  to  organize  His  kingdom,  and  transmit  that  power 
to  their  successors — which  they  could  not  do  until  His  sacred 
Immanity  was  glorified  in  the  God-head. 

The  Apostles  had  assembled  with  closed  doors,  because  they 
feared  the  Jews  might  arrest  and  murder  them — as  they  had 
Christ;  but  He  entered  and  vanished  from  the  room,  the  door 
being  shut.  His  spiritual  body  was  not  subject  to  the  laws  of 
matter. 


356  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

No  other  event  in  our  Lord's  life  is  confirmed  by  such  proofs 
as  His  resurrection  ;  because  it  was  the  strongest  evidence  of  His 
Divine  nature,  foreknowledge,  and  power,  and  it  is  ^he  key-stone 
in  Christian  Theology.  St.  Paul  calls  Easter,  "  The  Festival," 
by  way  of  eminence,  which  shows  it  was  celebrated  by  th3  Apos- 
tles, and  is  the  root  of  all  the  Christian  Holy  Days;  because  it 
is  the  anniversary  of  the  first  Lord's  Day,  of  the  first  Easter  ever 
celebrated,  and  is  the  great  central  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  wliicli 
gives  vitality  to  all  the  others.  And  so,  St.  Paul  says,  "  Unless 
Clirist  be  risen,  our  preaching  is  vain,  and  your  faith  is  vain  ;  " ' 
for  on  that  fact  rests  the  proof  that  He  is  the  Resurrection  and 
the  Life,  as  He  declared  Himself  to  be.  And  he  says,  also,  "  We 
Apostles  are  false  witnesses  of  God;  (because  they  testified)  that 
God  raised  up  Christ,  whom  He  raised  not,  if  the  dead  rise  not." 
Jesus'  resurrection  perfected  His  human  nature — it  was  a 
new  birth  from  its  material  to  a  spiritual  body;  and  it  showed 
that  death  and  the  resurrection  are  means  of  man's  development 
fi-om  a  mortal  to  an  immortal  state.  Christ's  death,  without 
His  resurrection,  would  have  been  fruitless;  because  it  would  be 
too  much  for  human  faith  to  believe  He  could  raise  our  bodies, 
if  He  had  not  raised  His  own. 

The  first  Christian  Festival  of  Easter  was  instituted  by 
Christ,  to  commemorate  His  own  resurrection  ;  and  as  bread  and 
wine  were  the  common  food  of  all  classes  when  our  Lord  came, 
it  is  certain,  also,  that  He  personally  consecrated  the  elements  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  gave  them  as  the  memorials  of  His 
death  and  resur.  ection,  and  as  means  of  imparting  spiritual  en 
lightenment.  The  resurrection  was  a  preparation  of  His  body 
for  its  ascension  to  Heaven  ;  and  on  that  depended  the  coming 
of  tlie  Holy  Spirit  to  abide,  and  through  whom,  Christ  Himself, 
in  the  Spirit,  would  carry  on  the  work  of  salvation,  which  He 
l.tegan  in  the  flesh,  to  give  His  eternal  life  and  righteousness  to 
all  believers.  And  the  Church  embodied  it  into  her  Holy  Seasons, 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  357 

Creed,  Gospel,  and  Epistles;  and  especially  into  tlie  Preface  for 
the  Holy  Communion  on  Easter:  "  To  praise  God  for  the  resur- 
rection of  His  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord." 

He  was  the  resplendant  first-fruit  of  what  all  mankind  will 
be  at  the  resurrection  ;  matter  liad  no  more  dominion  over  ELis 
body.  Mary  did  not  know  Him  at  the  tomb,  nor  the  disciples 
at  Emmaus,  nor  the  Apostles  in  the  upper  room  at  Jerusalem; 
nor  ever  on  the  forty  days  He  remained  on  earth — except  as  He 
assumed  a  human  form  or  voice,  like  that  He  had  while  in  the 
flesh.  No  eye  ever  saw  His  resurrection  body  in  its  spiritual 
state,  which  is  evident  from  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
where  he  says,  "  Now  henceforth  know  we  Christ  no  more  after 
the  flesh." 

And  we  learn  from  Christ,  that  death  and  the  resurrection 
are  the  new  birth  struggles  of  our  bodies  to  immortality  ;  that 
we  grow  in  the  nursery  of  the  Church  Militant,  to  prepare  us 
for  the  Church  at  Rest,  in  Paradise,  to  be  fitted  for  the  Church 
in  Glory,  in  Heaven.  And  this  reveals  to  us  an  infinite  view  of 
God's  wisdom  and  love,  and  of  the  dignity  and  glory  of  the 
eternal  life  for  which  He  created  us;  and  of  the  debt  of  love 
a,nd  gratitude  we  owe  Him  for  the  wonders  of  our  Creation,  and 
Redemption,  and  capabilities  for  an  endless  progress  in  knowl- 
edge and  glory  in  His  eternal  kingdom. 

It  was  Christ's  resurrection  which  made  the  Apostles  begin 
to  believe  in  Him,  as  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God,  a  person  of  the 
God-head  ;  but  that  faith  was  not  perfected  until  His  ascension 
to  Heaven,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  came.  The  Life  of  Christ — 
whi(;h  then  began  to  enter  into  the  life  of  men — became  a  great 
spiritual  power,  that  has  ever  sinve  been  operative;  it  gave  a 
new  impulse  in  every  realm  of  intellectual  activity  and  develop- 
ment of  the  human  mind,  entering  into,  and  exalting,  and  civil- 
izing the  nations,  improving  arts,  civilization,  and  science.  And 
no  new  law  of  matter  has  been  discovered,  which  does  not  owe 


858 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 


it  to  the  spiritual  expansion  that  then  begun,  and  is  now  mani- 
fest in  the  religious  development  that  is  spi'eading  among  the 
nations,  and  preparing  the  way  for  Christ  to  return  as  the  Sou 
of  Man,  in  the  glory  of  God,  to  judge  the  world. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

THE  GREAT  FORTY  DAYS. 

* 

St.  Luke  says  Clirist  showed  Himself  alive  after  His  resur- 
rection forty  clays,  being  seen  of  tlie  disciples  by  many  infalli- 
ble signs,  and  teaching  them  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God. 
John  prepared  Christ's  wa}^,  "preaching  the  kingdom  of  Heaven 
is  at  hand;"  and  He  took  np  John's  message,  sajn'ng,  "Repent 
ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand."  And  when  He  sent 
the  Apostles,  it  was  with  the  same  message;  but  he  charged  the 
Seventy  "As  ye  go,  preach;  saying  the  kingdom  of  God  has 
come  near  you."  And  after  His  resurrection.  He  instructed  the 
Apostles  how  to  organize  it,  after  the  Holy  Gliost  came,  to 
make  it  a  visible  kingdom  to  convey  His  spiritual  life  and  right- 
eousness, through  its  ministry  and  sacraments. 

And  those  forty  daj's  are  -a  distinct  and  marvellous  period 
in  His  earthly  missiorv  All  His  appearances  were  supernatural; 
ilo  one  ever  saw  His  spiritual  body,  knew  its  nature,  or  where 
He  abode  wliile  He  remained  on  earth.  All  the  Apostles  Avere 
convinced  of  His  identity,  except  Thomas,  on  tlie  day  He  rose; 
but  he  refused  to  believe  until  he  saw  the  wounds  of  the  cruci- 
fixion in  His  body,  and  remained  in  unbelief  eii^ht  days,  until 
Christ  miraculously  showed  them  to  him.  Such  a  man  would 
not  be  likely  to  be  deceived,  or  countenance  deception  in  others; 


360  LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  ^ 

and  no  one  was  more  deeply  interested  to  discover  fraud,  if  there 
were  any, 

Clirist  remained  those  forty  days  to  fulfill  the  type  of  Moses 
in  the  Ivluunt,  receiving  instruction  from  God  liow  to  prepare  the 
ministry  and  ritual,  and  to  C)rganize  the  old  kingdom  of  God, 
after  the  Heavenly  pattern  shown  him  ;  so  Christ  devoted  these 
days  to  teaching  the  Apostles  respecting  His  kingdom,  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  how  to  perfec-t  the  work  He  began,  and  prepare  it 
to  go  on  without  His  visible  presence.  All  His  teaching  before 
this  was  prospective;  and  the  calling  of  the  Apostles  and  Sev- 
enty, the  institution  of  the  Sacraments,  were  but  preparations 
for  receiving  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  Evangelists  relate  but  few  of  Christ's  appearances,  on 
the  forty  days,  and  but  few  of  His  sayings;  and  they  are  so  con- 
cise, and  differently  narrated,  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  exactly 
when  or  where  they  were  spoken.  And  they  are  involved  in  a 
similar  mystery  to  that  seen  in  His  earthly  life  and  sayings;  and 
all  were  revelations  only  to  the  Apostles,  to  confirm  their  faith 
in  Him,  and  prepare  them  for  the  res}:orxsibility  to  devolve  on 
them.  And  they  gave  commandments  afterwards,  which  they 
said  were  received  from  Clu*ist,  of  which  the  Gospels  make  no 
mention. 

Christ  told  the  Apostles  how  to  fill  up  the  outline  of  the 
kingdom  He  had  given  them,  and  all  that  they  embodied  in  the 
Eitual  of  the  Christian  Church.  And  there  was  no  need  to  record 
this  in  the  Gospel,  because  it  was  done  before  the  Gospels  were 
written,  and  there  was  the  visible  Church  to  be  seen  and  known 
of  all.  And  if  more  had  been  written  in  the  Gospel,  it  would 
not  have  added  more  weight  to  the  testimony,  nor  been  any 
more  effectual  to  convince  mankind,  nor  to  save  the  Church  from 
schisms. 

Christ  promised  that  the  Holy  Ghost  should  empower  them 
to  succeed  to  both  His  High  Priesthood  and  Apostleship,  and 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  361 

bring  to  their  minds  all  He  liad  said  to  them.  So  St.  Paul  said, 
"The  Church  is  built  on  tlie  foundations  of  the  Prop]iets  and 
Apostles,  Christ  being  the  chief  corner  stone;"  and  the  Ministry, 
Sacraments,  Creed,  and  Liturgy  He  ordained,  yet  survive  in  His 
Cliurcli.  And  thirteen  centuries  ago,  and  two  centuries  before 
St.  Augustin  went  to  Britain,  Gildas  called  the  old  Liturgy  of 
the  British  Churcli,  "The  Lord's  RrruAL." 

And  all  this  proves  that  the  Christian  Church  is  but  the 
development  from  the  mother  Cluirch,  which  the  Son  of  God 
inaugurated  in  Paradise,  organized  on  Mt,  Sinai,  and  perfected 
after  His  resurrection;  and  so  revealed  it  as  to  manifest  the 
spiritual  depths  of  the  Law,  and  prepare  it  to  continue  until  the 
world's  end,  and  to  transmit  all  the  blessings  of  His  Incarnation 
and  Atonement. 

And  now  the  Ministry  called  Apostolic,  and  the  Apostle's 
Creed,  are  not  so  called  from  the  Apostles — but  from  the  gj-eat 
High  Priest  and  Apostle,  tlie  Son  of  God,  who  was  sent  by  the 
Father  from  Heaven  to  establish  His  kingdom,  with  its  Sa(;ra- 
raents.  Ordinances,  and  Ritual,  and  to  produce  a  higher  spiritual 
life  and  righteousness  than  the  Jewish  Church  could  ;  for,  as  St. 
Paul  says,  "The  Law  made  nothing  perfect."  And  it  was  "nec- 
essary, therefore,  that  the  patterns  of  the  things  in  the  Heavens 
should  be  purified  with  these;  but  the  Heavenly  things  (sacra- 
ments and  priesthood,  and  ordinances  sanctified  by  the  Holy 
Ghost)  themselves  with  better  sacrifices;"  that  is,  of  Christ's  hu- 
miliation and  death,  so  as  to  produce  the  righteousness  whicrh  is 
by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 

One  whole  week  passed  after  Christ's  resurrection,  and  no 
one  knew  where  He  abode  ;  or  whether  they  would  ever  see  Him 
again,  until  He  fulfilled  His  promise  to  Mary,  to  meet  His  disci- 
ples in  Galilee.  But  after  eight  days,  the  disciples  were  again 
assembled — the  next  Lord's  day — and  He  appeared  again,  and 
stood  in  their  midst;  and  giving  them  His  salutation,  "Peace  be 


863  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

unto  yon,"  and  saying,  "All  power  is  given  nnto  Me  in  Ilen'en 
and  on  earth,"  He  reproved  them  for  their  unbelief  and  liard- 
ness  of  heart — bei^ause  all  doubted  His  resurrection  at  first,  and 
Thomas  had  remained  unbelieving  until  then.  Tlierc  was  no  an- 
nouncement of  His  coming,  but  the  same  mysterious  and  supernat- 
ural entrance — tlie  doors  being  closed;  and  He  said  to  Thomas, 
"Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and  behold  My  hands;  and  reach 
hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  My  side:  and  be  not  faithless 
but  believing."  Rationalists,  reasoning  from  material  laws,  deny 
that  Christ  could  pass  into  a  house,  the  doors  and  windows  being 
shut  ;  but,  until  we  know  more  of  a  spiritual  body,  it  is  Christian 
faith  to  believe  as  the  Gospel  represents  it. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Thomas  made  any  attempt  to 
touch  the  Lord;  if  it  were  possible  that  any  signs  of  tlie  wounds 
were  visible  in  His  glorified  body,  they  would  not  have  been  vis- 
ible to  Thomas.  For  Christ  evidently  miraculously  revealed  to 
him  the  appearance  of  His  human  body,  as  it  looked  soon  after 
His  crucifixion;  and  when  he  saw  it,  he  cried  out,  "My  Lord 
and  My  God."  Theologians  commonly  regard  tliese  words  as 
an  expression  of  Thomas' faith  in  Christ's  Divinity;  but  there  is 
no  probability  of  it,  because  Christ  had  never  publicly  or  pri- 
vately taught  it — except  in  a  mystery  not  to  be  explained  until 
the  Holy  Ghost  came. 

And,  so  far  froni  believing  in  Cln-ist  as  the  incurnate  Son 
of  God,  he  did  not  believe  in  His  resurrection;  and  declared 
he  would  not,  unless  his  senses  were  convinced  by  tlie  siglit  of 
the  prints  of  the  wounds  in  His  body.  And  when  Christ  mani- 
fested them,  he  was  convinced  that  His  body  had  risen,  and  tliat 
He  was  the  Christ;  and  he  called  Him,  "My  Lord  and  My 
God,"  in  the  Jewish  sense.  And  I  gratefully  acknowledge  my 
oblioation  to  a  learned  and  critical  Ronuin  Catholic  theologian, 
for  calling  my  attention  to  this  obscurity  concerning  Clu'ist,  as  a 
person  of  the  God-head. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  363 

There  is  no  instance  wliere  Christ  taught  it  in  the  Gospel, 
Lcfore  Wi<  resurrection,  though  we  now  see  plainly  that  it  was 
<.)ften  in  His  words  ;  and  it  would  have  defeated  the  final  object  of 
His  mission,  had  it  heen  understood  by  tlie  Rulers  of  the  Jews. 
Because,  as  St.  Paul  said,  years  after  the  Ascension,  had  they 
known  it,  "  they  would  not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of  Glory  ;  " 
and  had  the  Apostles  known  it,  St.  John  would  not  have  con- 
fessed on  the  resurrection  morn,  that  they  did  not  know  He  was 
to  rise  from  the  dead.  Nor  would  Thomas'  confession  have  been 
unconfirmed  by  Christ,  when  he  made  it.  He  did  not  commend 
his  faith,  even,  but  left  him  in  his  Jewish  belief;  saying,  "Blessed 
are  they  who  have  not  seen,  and  yet  believed." 

Moreover,  on  all  those  forty  resurrection  days,  Christ  gave 
His  disciples  no  new  proofs  of  His  divinity — except  the  awful 
mystery  surrounding  Him.  He  was  no  longer  the  Prophet-like 
Moses  or  Elijah,  living  in  the  lowest  plane  of  humanity,  and 
demanding  no  special  reverence  from  His  Apostles;  but  when- 
ever He  appeared  to  tliem  they  were  astonished  or  terrified,  but 
as  yet,  they  did  not  know  His  Divinity. 

And  on  that  single  occasion,  where  the  Rulers  of  the  Jews 
did  perceive  tlie  deeper  meaning  of  His  words,  in  claiming  to  be 
the  Son  of  God — and  accused  Jesus  of  blasphemy,  because  He 
said,  "I  and  My  Father  arc  One"— He  instantly  gave  them  to 
understand  that  tlieir  Ltiw  ad^nitted  of  such  application  to  Him 
as  the  Christ.  He  asked,  "Is  it  not  written  in  your  Liiw,  I  said 
ye  ai-e  Gods;  and  if  He  called  them  Gods  to  whx)m  the  word  of 
God  came,  and  the  Scripture  cann.^  b«  broken;  gay  ye  of  Him, 
whom  the  Father  hath  sanctified  and  sent  into  the  world,  Thou 
blaspliemest,  because  I  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God?" 

St.  John  relates  only  four  of  our  Lord's  appearances,  when 
tliere  were  many  more;  and  lie  says  Christ  said  and  did  many 
th'ngs  in  the  forty  days,  wiiicli  are  not  recorded.  But  many  of 
them  are  visible  in  the  or^ranization  of  the  Church.     And  he  re- 


364  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

corded  what  the  Holy  Ghost  directed,  or  what  looked  sufficient, 
ill  his  judgment,  to  convince  all  future  generations  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  truly  the  Son  of  God,  who  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt 
with  tlie  Apostles;  and  in  whom  they  behold  the  glory,  as  tlie 
glory  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  the  Father,  and  that  "believ- 
ing in  Ilim,  they  might  have  life  through  His  Name." 

Christ's  next  appearance  was  to  the  seven  Apostles,  at  the 
Sea  of  Tiberias.  A  week  had  passed,  and  where  He  abode,  or 
what  He  did,  was  unknown;  but  the  disciples  waited,  expecting 
a  call  to  meet  Him  in  Galilee,  when  they  expected  His  kingdom 
would  be  instituted — for  they  yet  looked  for  a  political  one. 
And  these  atoms  from  God's  word  to  build  the  kingdom  on, 
make  the  bulk  of  revelation  correspond  to  the  atoms  of  gases 
and  matter,  and  the  remains  of  the  protozoa,  which  form  the 
foundations  of  the  kingdom  of  nature,  and  the  ether  and  atmos- 
phere, in  which  the  solar  system  floats,  and  prove  that  one  God 
is  the  Autlior  of  both. 

Meanwhile,  the  Apostles  seem  to  have  returned  to  their 
former  occupation  as  fishermen,  and  did  not  know  what  awaited 
them.  They  had  toiled  all  the  old  Sabbath  night,  and  had  taken 
nothing,  and  in  the  morning  dawn  saw  a  stranger  standing  on 
the  shore.  They  did  not  know  Him  ;  but  it  was  not  from  tlie 
darkness  or  distance,  because  He  hailed  them  and  asked  if  they 
had  any  food.  And  they  answered,  No  !  As  on  all  former  meet- 
ings. His  appearance  was  as  a  strange  man.  And  He  said,  "  Cast 
your  net  on  the  right  side  of  the  boat,  and  ye  shall  find  ;  "  and 
they  did  so,  and  the  net  was  immediately  filled  witli  fish. 

St.  John  said  to  Peter,"  "It  is  the  Lord;"  and  he  pulled  off 
his  coat,  and  cast  himself  into  the  Sea.  And  the  disciples,  in 
another  boat,  helped  to  drag  the  net  asliore.  On  a  former  occa- 
sion the  net  break,  but  not  so  now;  it  was  a  symbol  of  the  great, 
drag-net  of  the  kingdom,  which  was  to  gather  in  men,  and  land 
them  safely  on  the  Heavenly  sliore.     No  word  is  told  of  how 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  365 

Peter  fared,  in  the  water.  But  he  had  some  knowledge  of  tlie 
power  of  Christ's  will  over  fish,  when  he  caught  that  one  witli 
the  tribute  money  in  its  mouth;  and  he  saw,  that,  in  His  resur- 
rection body,  He  yet  lield  dominion  over  them. 

When  the  disciples  landed,  they  saw  a  fire,  and  fish,  and 
bread;  and  OIn'ist  told  them  to  bring  their  fish,  but  none  durst 
ask,  "Who  art  Thou?  Knowing  He  was  the  Lord."  Whether 
His  act  of  eating  before  the  Apostles  was  real,  or  only  appeared 
so  to  them,  His  mystical  body  needed  no  earthly  food  to  sustain 
it;  and  His  object  was  to  convince  them  of  His  personal  identit3\ 
After  the  meal  ended,  Christ  said  to  Peter,  "  Simon,  son  of 
Jonas,  lovest  thou  Me  more  than  these?"  And  he  said,  "Yea, 
Lord,  Tliou  knowest  that  I  love  Tliee;"  and  He  said,  "Feed  my 
lambs."  Tlius  He  committed  the  children  to  His  Cliurch;  they 
were  the  first  objects  of  His  love  and  i;are,  after  His  resurrec- 
tion. Again  He  said,  "Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  Me?  " 
He  answered,  "Yea,  Lord,  TJiou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee;" 
and  He  said,  "Feed  My  sheep."  After  the  lambs  have  grown 
to  sheep,  they  must  yet  be  cared  for.  Tl^en  a  third  time,  He 
saM  to  Peter,  "Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  Me?"  Peter 
was  grieved  because  He  asked  the  third  time,  and  he  said,  "  Lord, 
Thou  knowest  all  things,  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee;"  and 
He  said,  "Feed  My  sheep." 

This  last  word  to  feed,  is  the  same  as  was  used  for  the 
lambs;  all  in  the  fold  are  His  now,  all  are  objects  of  His  love 
and  care — and  He  turned  tliem  over  to  His  Church,  to  be  fed 
and  trained  ;  and  love  for  Him  must  be  the  impelling  motive,  to 
make  His  ministers  do  their  duties  to  the  flock.  But  why  ad- 
dress Peter,  as  if  this  supervision  were  especially  for  him  ?  The 
reason  is  plain  :  after  Peter's  recent  blasphemy  and  denial.  He 
miglit  well  fear,  that,  like  Judas,  he  had  forfeited  his  right  to 
the  Apostleship  ;  but  the  Lord  thus  assured  him  of  His  forgive- 
ness, and  that  he  should  have  his  throne  in  His  kingdom  with 


86e  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

the  otlicr  Apostles.  And  the  triple  repetition  of  the  qnestion 
rcspectiui^  his  love  could  not  but  have  recalled  to  Peter's  inind 
Jiis  three  denials  of  Christ;  and  the  Lord's  words  to  Simon,  the 
Pharisee,  when  He  asked  Him  about  the  two  debtors,  and  he 
said  he  supposed  he  would  love  most  to  wliom  most  was  for- 
given— and  thus  assuring  liim  tliat  he  was  forgiven. 

Therefore,  instead  of  conferring  any  supremacy  on  St. 
Peter,  our  Lord's  intention,  evidently,  was  to  assure  him  that  he 
iiad  not  forfeited  his  Apostleship;  in  no  instance  did  he  exercise 
any  supremacy  over  the  other  Apostles,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
appears  always  subordinate. 

AVlien  the  candidate  was  selected  to  fill  Judas'  place,  the 
eleven  Apostles  "gave  their  lots;"  when  the  seven  deacons  were 
chosen  to  complete  the  three-fold  ministry,  the  twelve  Apostles 
said,  "Look  ye  ont  seven  men  of  honest  report,  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom,  whom  we  may  appoint."  And  though 
there  were  twelve  lines  of  Apostolic  succession,  when  the  first 
Apostolic  College  assembled  to  decide  about  doctrine,  St.  James 
presided;  and  St.  Paul  rebuked  St.  Peter,  because  of  his  com- 
piomising  with  the  Jews  at  Antioch,  and  "withstood  him  to  the 
face."  And  when  St.  Peter  was  an  old  man,  and  laboring  in 
Babylon — from  whence  he  wrote  his  Epistles,  and  where  he  suf- 
fered martyrdom — St.  Paul  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
which  he  would  hardly  have  done  if  St.  Peter  were  Bishop 
there,  or  had  ever  been  at  Rome.  There  is  no  particle  of  his- 
torical evidence,  civil  or  sacred,  to  show  that  Peter  ever  saw 
Rome — until  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  his  death,  when 
the  statue  of  a  Syrian  God  named  Semo,  pretended  to  be  Simon 
Peter,  was  dug  up;  and  on  that  fact  hangs  all  the  later  history  of 
his  Apostleship  there. 

Then  s:iid  the  Lord  to  St.  Peter,  "When  thou  shalt  be  old 

another  shall  gird  thee,  and  carry  thee  where  thou  wouldest 

not.    Follow  Me."    This  would  recall  to  his  mind  the  words  He 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  367 

spake  to  ]\\m,  the  evening  before  His  crucifixion,  after  t]^,e  Pascal 
Sir-^por,  "  Wliitlier  I  go  thou  canst  not  follow  Me  now,  l)nt  thou 
slialt  follow  Me  afterwards;"  which  foretold  His  violent  deatii 
l\v  crue  iixion,  as  the  way  he  would  follow  Him,  and  as  the  end 
of  his  Apostleship,  and  ''  thereby  glorified  God," 

Then  Peter,  turning  to  St.  John<  said,  "  Lord,  what  shall 
tliis  man's  end  he?"  for  the  answer  shows  that  is  the  prol)able 
meaning  of  the  interrogation;  and  He  said,  "If  I  will  that  he 
tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee?"  And  Peter  and  the 
disciples  mfei-rcd  that  Christ  meant  St.  John  should  not  die  until 
He  c;ame  at  the  end  of  the  world  to  judgment;  but  He  referred 
to  His  first  coming — of  which  he  had  before  told  thom — to  judg- 
ment on  the  Jewish  nat'on,  to  destroy  their  polity  and  Temple, 
and  put  an  end  to  the  Daily  Sacrifice,  and  scatter  them  among 
the  nations;  and  He  was  the  only  Apostle  who  lived  to  witness 
it. 

The  next  appearance  of  Christ  to  the  Apostles  was  espe- 
cially devoted  to  opening  their  minds  to  understanding  all  that 
Moses,  and  the  Prophets  and  Psalmist  had  foretold  respecting 
His  death  and  resurrection,  and  the  new  Avay  for  forgiveness  of 
sins  that  was  to  be  preached  to  all  nations  in  His  Name — which 
was  another  act  of  His  Divine  royalty;  but  He  charged  them  to 
remain  at  Jerusalem  until  they  were  endued  with  power  from  on 
high,  to  exerci=e  this  new  authority. 

Though  the  Lord  then  gave  the  Apostles  power  to  under- 
stand the  old  Scriptures  concerning  Himself,  He  did  not  give 
them  the  understanding  of  all  He  said  to  them  whi-h  was  to  be 
M-ritten  in  the  New  Testament,  and  enable  them  to  ordain  the 
Rulers  and  organize  the  Church,  until  His  ascension,  and  tlie 
Holy  Ghost  came  to  abide — that  it  might  be  foi'ever  known  that 
the  Church  is  not  of  man,  nor  from  man,  nor  of  this  world,  but 
of  God. 

Wiiat  time  transpired  between  this  appearing  of  our  Lord, 


868  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

and  tlie  last  one — when  He  led  five  hundred  disciples  out  to  Beth- 
any, and  t^ave  His  last  great  charge,  and  Resurrection  Commis- 
sion to  the  Apostles,  and  revealed  to  them  tlie  name  by  which 
God  was  forever  to  l)e  known  in  His  Church — not  a  word  is  said 
in  the  Gospels;  and  all  this  m3'stery  identifies  Him  as  the  God 
of  tlie  Old  Testament,  of  whom  Isaiah  said,  "  Yerilj  Thou  art  a 
God  who  hidest  Thyself." 

When  He  met  the  disciples  there,  some  worshipped  Him. 
hut  others  doubted;  and  the  reason  of  the  doubt  was  that  He 
appears  never  to  have  manifested  Himself  under  His  former 
appearance,  to  compel  the  faith  of  any  but  the  eleven  Apostles, 
who  were  His  chosen  witnesses  for  His  resurrection;  to  them 
He  committed  the  duty  of  convincing  the  world. 

At  that  last  solemn  meeting,  when  the  Lord  was  to  depart 
from  this  world,  in  His  bodily  presence,  and  commit  to  His 
Chur(;h  to  carry  on  the  work  He  had  begun,  He  renewed  the 
declaration  He  made  to  the  Apostles  on  the  evening  of  His  res- 
urrection, "All  power  is  given  Me  in  Heaven,  and  on  Earth;" 
and  in  virtue  of  that.  He  gave  the  great  Resurrection  Commis- 
sion and  promise,  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  disciple  all  nations, 
"  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  " — whoever  believed  and  was  baptized,  would  be 
saved  ;  and  whosoever  sins  they  remitted  or  retained,  He  would 
ratify  in  Heaven,  and  whoever  would  not  believe  should  be  con- 
demned. 

This  great  Christian  doctrine  of  the  one  God,  in  the  most 
Holy  Trinity,  into  whose  name  the  disciples  were  to  be  baptized, 
was  then  given  to  the  Church — to  be  held,  taught,  and  trans- 
mitted, as  the  fountain  of  all  power  and  truth — and  from  whom 
came  all  the  sacred  doctrines  of  the  Gos-el,  and  all  the  authority 
of  tlie  Church.  The  only  living  and  true  God,  wdiose  Name  is 
above  every  name,  to  wh^m  every  knee  must  bow;  and  so  bow 
to  Christ,  because  He  was  to  be  glorified  in  the  God-head.     It 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  369 

\v;is  the  ];!st  revelation  of  Clirist  to  man,  the  daj  He  ascend- 
ed to  Heaven,  of  the  One  in  Tiiree,  and  Three  in  One,  tlie 
greatest  mystery  of  God  and  eternity;  and  it  was  the  only  doc- 
trine He  revealed  on  the  forty  days,  as  the  summary  and  sourc3 
of  all  truth,  and  the  foundation  of  His  kingdom's  cliarter.  And 
.~o  it  has  ever  since  stood  in  the  Creed,  and  Doxologies,  and 
Prayers  of  His  Clmrch,  as  the  bond  of  unity  for  all  Gospel 
trutli.  And  all  who  are  baptized  and  signed  with  Christ's  cross 
in  that  Holy  Name,  know  they  have  received  remission  of  their 
sins,  through  His  most  precious  blood.  By  this  Holj'  Name, 
the  Apostles  were  empowered  to  organize  Christ's  kingdom,  to 
ordain  its  Kulers,  to  teach,  to  bind,  and  to  loose,  to  tjovern  it, 
and  transmit  their  powxr  and  authority  to  their  sncce&sors,  until 
Christ  comes  again;  for  He  promised,  as  His  last  great  promise, 
and  before  He  pionounced  His  last  blessing  as  He  was  ascend- 
ing to  Heaven,  "Lo!  I  am  with  you  always,  to  the  end  of  the 
world."  And  the  power  to  forgive  sins  is  not  in  the  priest — but 
from  Christ,  through  the  Hoi 3^  Spirit,  in  the  Sacraments;  tlie 
priest  is  the  agent,  through  Christ,  in  the  Spirit — He  Himself 
<  onveys  the  sacramental  grace.  But  the  Apostles  did  not  even 
understand  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  nor  His  Divine  nature 
as  it  was  then  revealed  in  their  great  commission,  until  the  Holy 
Giiost  came  with  power;  they  were  yet  to  remain- at  Jerusalem 
until  they  were  elidued  with  power  from  on  high. 


CHAPTER   XLVL 


OUR   LORD'S  ASCENSION. 


There  have  been  three  Ascensions  of  men  to  other  worlds, 
witliout  passing  throngh  the  common  dissohition  of  the  body^r- 
under  the  three  dispensations,  or  covenants,  of  God  with  man — 
and  each  one  in  an  ascending  scale.  The  first  was  Enoch,  under 
the  Covenant  of  Sacrifice,  which  extended  from  Adam  to  Abra- 
ham ;  he  was  translated  because  he  walked  witli  God,  but  the 
time  and  manner  aj-e  not  related.  The  second  was  Elijah,  under 
the  Covenant  of  Circumcision,  which  prevailed  from  Abraham 
to  Christ;  that  was  seen  by  Elisha,  Elijah  rising  on  the  air, 
and  received  by  a  Heavenly  chariot.  These  both  went  to  Par- 
adise. The  third  was  Christ,  under  His  own  Christian  Cove- 
nant, after  He  returned  from  Paradise,  going  up  at  noon-day 
from  the  presence  of  many  spectators,  ascending  by  His  own 
Divine  power  to  Heaven — as  the  first  fruits  of  mankind,  as  the 
Forerunner  of  the  race,  and  the  assurance  that  He  opened  the 
way  for  all  believers. 

A  thousand  years  before  Jesus'  birth,  the  Psalmist  foretold 
His  ascension  to  Heaven,  and  tiie  blessings  that  would  follow 
it;  in  a  prophetic  vision  he  saw  His  triumphal  ascension,  and,  in 
the  rapture  of  poetic  inspiration,  cried  out,  as  if  he  saw  Him 
approaching  the  Heavenly  world,  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  Ye 


24 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  371 

Gates!  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors;  and  the  King 
of  Glory  shall  come  in."  And  again,  "Thon  hast  ascended  on 
High,  Thon  hast  led  captivity  captive  :  Thou  hast  received  gifts 
for  men:  yea,  for  the  rebellious  also,  tliat  the  Lord  our  God 
niiglit  dwell  among  them."  And  on  the  resurrection  morn, 
Christ  foretold  to  Mary  that  He  was  about  to  ascend  to  His 
Father  in  Heaven. 

Of  the  last  interview  of  Clu'ist,  at  Bethany,  with  the  disci 
pies,  that  continued  from  morning  to  noon-day,  but  little  is  re- 
corded ;  but  He  never  could  have  looked  so  gracious  and  Divine 
to  thera  before,  nor  can  it  be  imagined  that  His  own  emotions 
were  ever  deeper,  than  at  the  two  things  about  to  happen  to 
Him — the  parting  from  His  beloved  disciples,  and  His  ascen- 
sion to,  and  admission  of  His  human  nature  into  the  glory  of 
the  God-liead  in  Heaven. 

While  they  were  grouped  around  Him,  listening  with  awe 
and  wonder  at  His  words,  and  expecting  some  new  manifesta- 
tion, their  minds  were  yet  dull,  after  all  they  had  seen  and 
heard  from  Him,  for  they  still  expected  a  political  kingdom; 
because  they  asked,  "  Lord,  wilt  Thou  at  this  time  restore  again 
the  kingdom  to  Israel?  "  But  His  answer  furnished  no  explan- 
ation of  the  nature  of  the  kingdom — only  they  nuist  Avait  at 
Jerusalem  until  they  were  endued  with  power  from  on  High  ; 
and  He  had  before  told  them,  that,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  came, 
He  would  enable  them  to  understand  all  things  respecting 
Hitn. 

There  is  no  record  of  any  parting  embraces,  no  words  of 
farewell,  no  tears  which  such  a  separation,  and  the  sundering  of 
such  love,  would  be  likch'  to  cause;  but,  suddenly,  while  the 
Lord  was  blessing  them,  He  ascended  on  the  air,  and  was  met 
by  angels,  who  came  down  to  the  Apostles  and  told  them  He 
had  gone  to  Heaven,  to  be  seated  at  God's  right  hand;  and  He 
would  come  again,  as  they  saw  Him  go,  on  the  clouds,  to  judge 


372  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

the  wofIi].  And  but  for  the  angels'  testimony,  they  woiihl  not 
have  known  hut  that  Christ  returned  to  Paradise. 

What  unity  there  is  in  the  GospeL  AVhat  consistency  and 
reasonableness  in  the  narrative.  Christ  said,  "I  came  down  from 
Heaven,"  and  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God;  and  leaving  the  world. 
He  said  He  was  going  to  Heaven;  and  only  His  risen,  spiritual 
body  could  ascend  there.  And  the  ascension  confirmed  what 
the  Apostles  had  seen — that  He  was  no  longer  subject  to  mate- 
rial laws,  but  gravitated  by  the  force  of  His  own  will  to  Hea- 
ven ;  and  by  a  mightier  law  than  that  which  governs  the  universe, 
He  passed  from  the  earth,  and  took  His  sacred  humanity  to  the 
throne  of  God,  No  human  imagination  ever  invented  such  a 
story. 

That  day  there  was  seen  a  new  sight  in  Heaven — the  Son 
of  Man  glorified,  and  worshipped  by  angelic  hosts.  As  the  Son 
of  God,  He  resumed  His  phice  in  the  God-head,  because  He 
could  do  more  for  His  Church  there,  than  on  earth;  He  told 
His  disciples,  "I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you,  that  where  T  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also."  And  He  glorified  His  human  nature  in 
the  God-head,  that  He  might  return  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
abide  in  His  Church,  according  to  His  promise,  until  the  end  of 
the  world,  and  finish  the  work  of  redemption  He  began  in  the 
flesh.  And  there,  from  His  throne,  He  has  ever  watched  over 
His  Church  ;  and  here  on  earth,  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  He  has  ever 
since  called  and  consecrated  its  ritlers,  helped  them  in  theiu 
Jabors,  and  sustained  them  in  their  trials  and  sufferings,  and 
regenerated  and  sanctified  all  believers. 

And  from  all  this,  we  learn  that  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son 
of  God  wrought  as  great  changes  in  Heaven,  as  on  earth.  Be- 
(jause  once,  there  was  but  one  nature  in  the  God-head — then,  a 
human  nature  was  added  to  it.  Once,  no  man  had  seen  God  ; 
but  now,  the  Son  of  Man,  Christ  Jesus,  lives  in  the  blaze  of  His 
glory.     Once,  all  the  angels  were  holy;  througli  the  revolt  of 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  CTS 

one,  many  fel];  and  l)y  the  Blood  of  the  Lamb,  they  were  over- 
come and  cast  out;  and  now,  all  who  were  stable  can  never 
more  be  tempted  by  Satan.  Once,  none  but  Christ  conld  enter 
Heaven;  now,  He  has  opened  the  kingdom  to  all  believers — so 
that,  after  the  resurrection,  they  can  also  enter  there. 

There  is  something,  in  this  world's  romance,  in  splendid, 
self-sacriiicing  deeds,  which  touch  the  deepest  sensibilities  of  oiir 
nature;  and  it  is  because  the  spirit  is  immortal,  that  everything 
supernatural  inspires  us  with  awe  or  delight.  And  all  God  has 
revealed  to  us,  through  Christ,  of  our  future  relations  to  Him, 
and  the  Heavenly  worlds,  and  our  future  existence  in  them,  is 
Heavenly  romance,  and  the  poetry  of  religion,  adapted  to  our 
nature,  and  designed  to  awaken  in  us  the  desire  and  effort  to  fit 
ourselves  for  onr  higher  life. 

St.  Paul  makes  this  practical  application  of  the  doctrine — 
"  If  ye  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things  which  are  above, 
where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God."  "We  see  in  t]\n 
whole  plan  of  the  Incarnation,  the  wisdom  and  love  of  God,  in 
giving  us  a  religion  so  adapted  to  our  nature  ;  so  ermobling  to  it, 
and  so  designed  to  excite  us  to  exertion  in  doing  its  duties,  and 
fitting  ourselves  for  a  higher  eternal  life. 

It  is  often  said  that  the  truth  of  Christ's  Divine  origin  and 
nature — and  so  of  Christianity — rests  chiefly  on  the  fact  of  His 
resurrection;  but  the  death  and  resurrection  were  but  interme- 
diate and  connecting  links  in  the  two  more  essential  facts  of  tlio 
Incarnation  and  Ascension  to  Heaven.  If  these  were  true,  then 
the  resurrection  was  a  reasonable  event;  for  unless  He  ascended 
to  Heaven  after  His  resurrection,  it  would  have  been  too  mu(/h 
for  human  faith  to  believe  that  He  ever  came  from  Heaven. 
Easter  is  sometimes  called  the  Queen  of  tlie  Cliristian  Festivals; 
but  the  Ascension  is  the  King  of  the  Festivals,  because  Christ 
then  ascended  to  Heaven,  to  be  enthroned  as  the  Son  of  Man,  in 
the  Royalty  of  the  God-head. 


374  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

And  in  all  our  world's  romance,  there  is  nothing  so  marvel- 
lous, bewilderiufj;,  and  enchanting,  as  this  story  of  the  infant 
Jesus — Ijorn  in  this  world  of  a  virgin  Avonian  Mother,  grown  here 
to  Manhood  the  Son  of  God  incarnate  in  Him — now  enthroned 
in  the  glory  of  the  God-head  in  Heaven,  yet  Head  of  His  Churcli 
on  earth;  and  besides  tliis,  reproving  the  world  of  sin,  calling 
men  to  repentance,  exalted — as  St.  Peter  said — to  Heaven,  to  be  a 
IMnce  and  Saviour,  and  give  repentance  to  Israel. 

Our  Lord's  resurrection  from  death  does  not  so  inspire  our 
imagination,  nor  quicken  our  faith,  nor  raise  our  hopes  of  future 
glory,  as  His  ascensicn;  because  we  see  in  that  the  possibility 
and  proof  of  our  own  ascension,  and  inheritance  with  Him  in 
Heaven.  He  said  to  His  disciples,  "I  ascend  to  My  Father,  and 
your  Father,  to  My  God,  and  to  your  God;"  and  "where  1  am, 
there  shall  ye  be  also."  And  His  ascension  is  proof  that  we  can 
ascend  and  live  with  Him  in  that  Divine  presence;  and  it  is  a 
motive  to  impel  us  to  do  all  in  our  power  to  live  so  as  to  secure 
tlie  inheritance.  It  teaches  us  to  reverence  our  bodies,  to  strive 
to  be  holy;  because,  without  holiness  no  one  can  see  God.  And 
we  know  that  we  are  seeking  the  things  above,  when  here  be- 
low we  are  doing  all  our  duties  in  Christ's  Church  according  to 
His  example.  The  Mother  Church  prepared  the  way  for  our 
Lord's  iirst  comhig,  and  His  Church  is  now  preparing  for  His 
second  coming;  and  our  rejoicing  then  will  be  proportioned  to 
what  we  have  done  to  prepare  ourselves,  and  the  world,  for  that 
auffust  event. 


^^•r■ 


CHAPTER    XLVIL 


CHRIST  GLORIFIED. 


Our  Lord  said  to  His  Apostles,  in  that  last  discourse,  tlie 
evening  before  His  crucifixion,  "It  is  expedient  for  jou  that  I 
go  away;  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  to 
you.  But  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  Him  unto  you;  and  He  will 
reprove  the  world  of  sin,  righteousness,  and  judgment,"  and 
guide  them  into  all  truth,  and  regenerate  and  sanctify  believers. 
They  did  not  know  what  He  meant  by  going  away,  nor  where 
He  was  going  to,  nor  who  the  Comforter  would  be. 

But  on  the  resurrection  morning.  He  told  Mary  to  tell  tlie 
disciples,  "I  ascend  to  My  Father  and  God,  and  to  your  Father 
and  God;"  and  when  He  ascended,  the  angels  told  them  He 
had  gone  to  Heaven.  And  all  we  yet  know  of  that  kingdom  is 
that  it  is  the  place  of  God's  abode  and  throne,  and  a  realm  of 
infinite  glory;  and  He  said,  "Heaven  is  My  Throne,  and  the 
Earth  My  footstool;"  and  as  God  is  a  Spirit,  it  must  be  a 
spiritual  kingdom.  Jesus  also  told  the  Apostles,  "All  that  tlio 
Father  hath  is  mine;  tlierefore  I  said  the  Comforter  shall  take 
of  Mine,  and  show  it  unto  you." 

As  tlic  Son  of  Man,  His  human  nature  w^as  admitted,  at  its 
glorifie;! tion,  into  the  same  union  with  God  the  Father,  and  tlic 
Spirit,  that  He  had,  as  the  Sou  of  God,  before  His  incarnation; 


;^ 


376  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

by  wlncli  His  sacred  humanity  became  omniscient,  omnipotent, 
and  omnipresent.  And  that  was  one  reason  wliy  it  was  expedient 
forllis  Apostles,  and  the  Church,  and  tlie  worhl,  that  He  should 
ascend  to  Heaven;  because,  there  He  could  do  more  for  them 
than  in  the  flesh  on  earth.  Because,  while  in  the  flesh.  He  was 
only  in  one  country,  and  came  to  call  only  tlie  Jews  to  repent- 
ance, and  to  prepare  the  way  for  His  kingdom  ;  but  in  the  Spirit, 
His  presence  w^ould  be  universal,  His  kingdom  organized — 
and  wdiile  He  called  men  to  repent  here.  He  would  intercede  for 
them  in  Heaven,  and  give  repentance  and  forgiveness  to  those 
who  asked,  and  righteousness  to  all  believers.  And,  finally — His 
presence  being  invisible — He  could  never  again  be  persecuted,  or 
crucified. 

After  our  Lord's  resurrection,  a  visible  change  came  over 
His  bodily  presence  and  powers:  but  a  vastly  greater  change 
attended  His  glorification  in  the  God-head.  When  the  first 
Christian  Martyr  suffered  for  Christ,  he  saw  Heaven  opened, 
and  Christ  standing  at  God's  right  hand;  and  he  prayed  to 
Him  to  forgive  his  persecutors,  and  to  receive  his  spirit.  And 
#.  when  Christ  appeared  to  Saul  of  Tarsus,  a  light  from  Heaven 

shined  on  Him  so  bright  that  he  fell  to  the  earth,  and  heard 
Him  saying,  "I  am  Jesus,  whom  thou  persecutest" — persecut- 
ing His  Church,  or  disciples,  is  yet  persecuting  Hhn.  And 
when  He  appeared  to  St.  John,  at  Patmos,  he  was  overcome  by 
the  splendor  of  His  Divine  presence.  His  countenance  was  like 
the  brightness  of  the  Sun,  His  voice  like  the  sound  of  many 
waters,  in  His  right  hand  were  seven  stars,  and  out  of  His 
mouth  was  a  sharp  sword;  and  His  name  was  no  longer  the 
Son  of  Man,  but  "I  am  the  Aljlia  and  Omega,  the  beginning 
and  the  end."  And  He  sent  back  this  message  to  His  disciples 
and  a  dying  world:  "I  am  alive  forever  more,  and  have  the 
keys  of  Hell  and  of  Death;  him  that  overcometh  I  will  make  a 
pillar  in  the  Temple  of  My  God;  and  I  will  write  upon  him  the 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  877 

Name  of  My  God,  the  Name  of  the  City  of  My  God,  and  My 
new  Name;  and  will  grant  him  to  sit  with  Me  on  My  tlirone, 
even  as  I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  My  Father,  on 
His  tlirone;  and  he  shall  inherit  all  thing.-,  and  I  will  be  his 
God,  and  he  shall  be  My  son." 

Sncli  were  to  be  some  of  the  grand  results — so  far  as  our 
race  is  concerned — of  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  Man  on 
earth,  in  man's  nature;  and  the  glorification  of  the  Son  of  Man 
in  the  God-head,  in  Heaven.  And  no  human  mind  can  imagine 
the  inaJGsty  and  grandeur,  the  might  and  magnificence,  of  the 
God-Man,  on  the  throne  of  God  and  the  universe  ;  or  of  His 
increr.sed  power  to  bless  and  save  men,  on  earth.  And  no  other 
world,  or  race  of  beings,  can  be  as  dear  to  Him  as  man  ;  because 
He  has  taken  the  earth's  elements  and  man's  nature,  and  glori- 
fied them  in  the  God-head.  And  it  looks  as  if  ten  of  our  days 
were  occupied  in  the  festivities  in  Heaven,  as  the  Apostles 
waited  so  long  after  the  Ascension,  until  Fentecost — the  anni- 
versary of  the  giving  of  the  Law,  and  the  institution  of  tlie  old 
kingdom  and  priesthood — before  the  Holy  Ghost  came;  and 
then  Christ  returned  in  and  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  abide  on 
earth,  in  the  miraculous  way  described  by  St.  Luke;  on  the 
Lord's  day,  when  the  Apostles  were  assembled  for  wors^'.ip, 
"Suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  Heaven,  as  of  a  rushing 
mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where  they  were  sitting. 
And  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven'  tongues  like  fire,  and  it 
sat  upon  each  of  them.  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave 
them  utterance,  the  wonderful  works  of  God."  The  names  of 
fifteen  countries  are  mentioned,  and  there  were,  doubtless,  many 
dialects  and  different  languages  spoken  by  them;  and  "tliey 
were  all  amazed,  and  marvelled,  saying  one  to  another,  behold 
these  are  all  Galileans,  and  how  hear  we  every  man  in  our  own 
tongue,  wherein  we  were  born."     It  might  be  supposed  that  the 


378  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

tongues  were  fi  tompornry  niirafulons  gift  for  tlie  occasion,  wcro 
there  not  evidence  to  tlie  coiitrary  ;  for^  eight  years  h\ter,  there 
was  a  simihir  manifestation  at  Cœsarea,  when  "tliey  Iciird  tliem 
speak  with  tongues,  and  magnify  God."     (Acts  x:46.) 

From  that  retm-ning  of  Clirist,  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
Apostles  received  power  to  organize  His  kingdom,  to  conse- 
crate "the  Christian  priesthood,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  His 
second  coming,  in  the  glory  of  the  God-head;  from  tiiat  day 
the  Man  Christ  Jesus  has  exercised  dominion  over  the  visible 
and  invisible  worlds;  has  abode  in  His  Church,  and  made  every 
member's  body  a  Temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  from  this 
it  is  seen  how  intimately,  through  Him  and  His  kingdom,  all  it 3 
members  are  allied  to  God,  and  to  Heaven. 

The  going  away  of  our  Saviour  in  the  fiesh,  Avas  the  crown- 
ins  act  of  His  incarnate  life  on  earth  ;  and  His  return  in  the 
Spirit,  was  the  crowning  blessing  of  His  manhood's  glorifit^ation 
in  Heaven.  It  was  the  beginning  of  His  new  work  in  Heaven 
— ^for  us  men,  and  our  salvation — of  His  preparation  for  His 
Church  there;  and  of  His  new  work,  on  earth,  of  carrying  on 
the  salvation  He  began  in  the  flesh,  a  thousand  fold  more  effec- 
tively in  the  Spirit — whereby  we  perceive,  more  clearly,  the 
depths  of  the  mystery  of  the  love  of  God,  in  Christ,  of  the  plan 
of  our. Creation  and  Redemption,  and  future  eternal  life;  and  of 
His  plan  for  spreading  His  Gospel  and  Church  among  all  na- 
tions, and  of  imparting  His  life  and  righteousness  to  all  believ- 
ers, and  carrying  on  the  world's  salvation. 

St.  Peter  said  to  the  High  Priest,  when  he  was  brought 
before  him  for  teaching  and  working  miracles  in  Christ's  Name, 
"  The  God  of  our  fathers  raised  up  Jesus,  whom  ye  slew  and 
hanged  on  a  tree;  Him  hath  God  exalted,  with  His  right  hand, 
to  be  a  Prince,  and  a  Saviour,  to  give  repentance  to  Israel,  and 
f  oro-iveness  of  sins.  And  we  are  witnesses  of  these  things  ;  so  is 
also  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  God  hath  given  to  them  who  obey 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  379 

Him;"  and  all  such  then,  and  ever  since,  have  found  Him  an 
all-sutMcient  Saviour,  and  He  will  be  their  God  forever. 

The  Holy  Spirit  wrouglit  with  the  Father  and  tlie  Son,  in 
creating  our  world  as  He  has  ever  since  co-operated  with  them 
in  its  moral  government;  He  inspired  the  Prophets,  He  caused 
the  immacculate  conception  of  Jesus,  He  descended  on  Him  to 
consecrate  Him  for  His  earthly  mission.  And  thus  began  the 
New  Dispensation  on  earth — far  more  wonderful  than  C]'eation 
— ^by  sanctifying  men,  and  exalting  them  to  be  God's  spiritual 
children,  through  Christ  entering  into  them  as  He  did  into  Him, 
to  abide  forever. 

The  first  mission  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  by  His  eternal 
procession  from  the  Father  and  the  Son;  but  His  second  mis- 
sion brought  Christ's  glorified  humanity  with  Him,  in  which  the 
fiery  glory  of  the  God-head  is  so  softened  that  it  can  enter  into 
our  bodies  and  make  tliem  His  temples;  so  that  every  good 
thought,  every  holy  desire,  and  every  longing  after  Christ's 
righteousness,  come  through  His  Divine  operation.  And  He 
can  be  every  where  at  the  same  time,  reproving  the  millions  of 
our  race  of  sin,  righteousness,  and  judgment  to  come;  regen- 
erating the  penitent,  comforting  tlie  mourning,  succoring  the 
tempted,  and  sanctifying  believers. 

Thus  began  the  reign  of  Christ  in  the  Spirit,  after  He  was 
glorified  in  Heaven;  and  now  we  see  wliy  it  was  expedient  for 
Him  to  depart.  St.  Paul  says,  "The  love  and  kindness  of  God 
our  Saviour  appeared  towards  man,  by  tlie  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  w^hich  He  shed  on  us  abundantly,  through  Jesus  Christ, 
our  Saviour."  And  this  is  the  mystery  of  Godliness:  That,  as 
the  union  of  the  Holy  Spirit  with  Jesus'  human  nature  made 
Him  the  God-Man,  so  Christ,  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  regenerating 
our  human  nature  in  Holy  Baptism,  makes  rus  Christ-Men,  or 
Christians;  which  enables  us  to  receive  the  Gifts  of  the  Spirit, 
when  that  life  is  Confirmed  in  us,  and  thenceforth  to  bring  forth 


880  LIFEOFCHRÎST. 

th  e  Fruits  of  the  Spirit,  which  are  u  righteousness  like  Christ's. 

St.  Paul  says,  Ave  are  "buried  into  Christ  by  baptism," 
wliicli  is  "Christ  in  you,  the  liope  of  glory;"  and,  as  all  know, 
if  thoy  liave  so  received  Him,  no  one  can  doubt  as  to  wbcther 
he  be  a  Christian  or  no.  And  it  affords  no  ground  for  merit  on 
our  part,  but  hangs  all  on  Christ  ;  and  is  designed  to  intensif}' 
our  love  of  Him,  to  inspire  our  zeal  to  obey  Him,  and  give  us 
patience  in  bearing  His  cross. 

The  organized  Christian  Church  was  first  mentioned  by 
name  the  day  the  Holy  Ghost  came,  and  the  people  asked  what 
must  we  do  to  be  saved.  And  three  thousand  converts  were 
that  day  added  to  it.  And  St.  Luke  says,  from  that  day  "  The 
Lord  added  to  the  Church  dail}''  su(^h  as  should  be  saved."  And 
the  doctrine  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  Spirit,  now  con- 
veys all  Divine  grace  through  His  Church  to  our  world,  runs 
through  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  Canonical  Epistles,  and 
Ritual  of  the  Church. 

Without  our  Lord's  return  in  the  Spirit,  thei'e  would  have 
been  no  speaking  of  tongues  with  the  Apostles  to  fit  them  to  go 
into  all  the  world  to  preach  the  Gospel  ;  no  power  in  them  to 
ordain  other  Apostles,  whom  the  Holy  Spirit  named  Bishops 
(Acts  xix:28);  no  Church  organized;  no  regeneration  and  sanc- 
tification tlirough  the  Sacraments;  and  no  Gospels  written.  And 
all  Christ  did  in  the  flesh  would  liave  made  no  more  lasting  im- 
pression in  our  world,  than  the  teaching  and  miracles  of  tlie 
Prophets.  It  is  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  has  made 
Christ's  ministry  the  power  of  an  endless  life*— a  world  embrac- 
ing, time  enduring  power — in  impelling  men  to  long,  and  strive 
for,  tlieir  own  and  the  world's  salvation,  and  so  prepare  them 
for  His  Second  Advent. 

And  the  consciousness  of  His  invisible  presence  on  earth, 
reproving,  restraining,  and  sanctifying  men,  and  drawing  tliem 
by  the  invisible  cords  of  His  love  from  the  ways  of  sin  to  the 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  381 

patlis  of  righteousness  ;  gathering  the  nations  into  His  kingdom, 
diffusing  knowledge,  elevating  the  people,  refining  their  civiliza- 
tion, has  incïi-eused  century  after  century,  and  gloriiied  His  Name. 

Christ  in  the  Spirit  is  doing  more  powerfully  on  the  whole 
world,  what  He  did  in  one  country,  while  He  was  in  the  flesh — 
Avorking  miracles  of  love  and  mercy,  calling  sinners  to  repent, 
sanctifjang  believers,  calling  and  empowering  His  ministers — 
for  when  Matthias  was  elected,  it  was  by  Christ,  and  in  ans¥/er 
to  tlie  Apostles'  prayer:  "Tiiou  Lord  show  which  Thou  hast 
chosen."  And  He  has  always  given  success  to  their  labors,  and 
comforted  them  in  their  troubles,  exactly  as  they  liave  looked  to 
Him  for  help;  and  has  also  made  Laymen  a  Royal  Priesthood 
in  praying,  and  giving,  and  w^orking  for  all  benevolent  objects, 
and  for  the  world's  salvation;  for  they,  also,  receive  grace  for 
their  work,  from  Christ,  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  His  Minis- 
ters do. 

Meanwhile,  He  has  also  been  everywhere  raising  the  fallen, 
healing  the  broken  hearted,  and  supporting  the  dying.  All  these 
are  His  works,  from  the  first  desire  of  the  penitent  sinner  until 
the  last  Holy  Communion  of  the  dying  Christian,  preparing  for 
his  entrance,  in  the  spirit,  to  the  Saints  in  Paradise. 

Jesus  now,  by  the  still  small  voice  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  yet 
speaks  to  the  conscience  of  men^  who  nevef  heard  of  His  Name, 
or  deathless  love  ;  and  makes  Himself  heard  above  the  tumult  of 
the  passions  within,  and  the  strife  of  the  world  without,  and 
writes  His  law  on  every  mind,  and  moves  more  mysteriously 
than  the  blowing  of  the  wind.  Thei-e  is  notliing  too  hio-h  for 
His  majesty  and  power,  for  He  is  God;  and  nothing  too  lowly 
for  His  love,  for  He  is  Man,  and  knows  all  our  infirmities,  and 
experienced  our  death. 

When  Christ  returned  in  the  Spirit,  miracles  were  con 
tinned  only  for  a  short  time,  as  they  were  no  longer  needed  ; 
because  His  witness  to  man's  spirit  more  than  supplied  their 


382  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

place.  It  is  the  Regal  and  Priestly  power  of  the  Son  of 
God,  which  makes  Iliiu  our  intercessor  in  Heaven,  as  well  as 
our  lielper  on  earth,  and  keeps  open  the  clumnels  of  grace  be- 
tween God  and  men;  and  from  wlience  has  flowed  the  life  and 
light  of  Christ,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  that  have  flooded  the 
eai-tii,  and  made  our  Christian  civilization  and  science  so  much 
superior  to  any  whicli  existed  before  Him. 

Thus  our  Lord  has  fulfilled  His  promise  that  He  would  re- 
turn to  tliis  world — would  not  leave  His  disciples  comfortless, 
but  would  draw  all  the  world  to  Him.  He  has  drawn  tlie  hea- 
then by  the  law  written  in  their  minds;  and  drawn  Cliristendom 
by  the  story  of  His  love  unto  death,  His  rcsurrei;tion,  and  ascen- 
sion, and  glorification  in  the  God-head,  and  the  revelation  that 
He  has  opened  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  to  all  who  believe  and 
obey  Him,  and  made  these  doctrines  understood  as  they  never 
were  before — and  never  could  have  been,  but  for  His  Divine  love 
and  infinite  condescension. 

Thus  the  Father's  promise  to  glorify  Christ,  is  fulfilled: 
First,  by  exalting  His  humanity  to  the  God  head,  and  kingdom 
of  Heaven;  Second,  by  erecting  Him  a  kingdom  on  earth,  more 
renowned,  universal,  and  lasting,  than  any  other  which  ever  ex- 
isted— King  of  a  kingdom  that  has  engirdled  the  earth,  on  which 
the  sun  never  sets,  and  its  worship  of  Christ  as  God  goes  on  day 
and  night,  which  has  kings  and  queens  as  its  subjects  wh<j  find 
it  the  best  safe-guard  for  their  stability,  and  has  outlived  con- 
temporary empires;  and  its  members  have  always  been  of  the 
liighest  type  of  manhood,  and  so  fitted  for  His  kingdom  in 
Heaven  ;  Third,  by  the  glory  of  the  blessings  which  His  religion 
has  conferred  on  mankind;  Fourth,  by  the  prophecies  now  ful- 
filling— that  the  Gentiles  would  flow  into  His  kingdom,  and  men 
would  become  as  Gods — seen  in  our  Christian  civilization  and 
Bcience;  and,  lastly,  by  the  fact  that  He  now  reigns  King  of  the 
angelic  Hierai-chy,  and  King  of  the  milliuns  of  Saints  in  Faradioe. 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  3S3 

And  Christ  is  gloi-ified  by  the  power  of  His  kingdom 
in  its  aggression  on  the  old  Paganism,  and  Heathenism,  and 
serfdom,  and  slavery;  in  raising  the  down-trodden,  exalting 
woman,  cariog  for  children,  crushing  superstition  and  persecu- 
tion, freeing  men  from  bondage  to  sin,  revealing  a  common 
Fatherhood  in  God,  and  brotherhood  in  Christ,  and  making 
Christendom  a  center  of  light,  whose  rays  have  streamed  to 
the  world's  end,  so  that  there  is  hardly  a  tribe  that  has  not 
heard  of  His  name;  and  the  whole  horizon  of  time  is  lighted 
by  His  glory,  and  is  preparing  the  way  for  His  second  coming 
in  the  glory  of  the  God-head. 

All  this  lias  come  through  Christ,  as  the  Risen  Sun  of 
Righteousness.  The  Sun  in  the  heavens  pours  its  light  in  bil- 
lowy mists,  through  the  realms  of  space,  and  sustains  all  the 
-inimal  and  vegetable  life  on  onr  globe;  and  how  can  any  doubt 
but  that  Christ  glorified  can,  and  does,  pour  down  from  Heaven 
through  His  Spirit,  make  His  spiritual  life  more  intensely  felt  ? 
Why  doubt  that  He  can  vastly  more  easily  convey  His  spiritual 
life  and  righteousness  to  men? 

We  are  half  matter  and  half  spirit,  and  we  live  between 
two  great  spiritual  worlds — Christ's  kingdom  of  Light,  and  Sa- 
tan's kingdom  of  Darkness;  and  we  know,  experimentally,  that 
we  are  daily  influenced  by  good  and  evil  impulses  from  these 
sp  ritual  forces — and  his  servants  we  are  to  whom  we  yield  our- 
selves servants  to  obey — that  doing  good  makes  us  like  Christ, 
and  doing  evil  makes  us  like  Satan;  and,  but  for  Christ's  help, 
the  best  would  daily  commit  deadly  sin,  or  give  up  the  struggle 
against  their  spiritual  enemies. 

But  Christ,  in  the  Spirit,  never  ceases  to  strive  with  sin- 
ners, unless  the}^  become  reprobate;  and  whenever  they  are 
wearied  with  their  evil  ways.  He  brings  them  to  the  Peace  of 
God,  and  God  and  the  Angels  rejoice.  This  is  a  Spiritualism 
adapted  to  our  nature,  and  worthy  of  our  God;  and  it  shovvd 


384  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

His  love,  and  the  dignity  of  our  nature,  which,  through  Christ, 
He  has  provided  a  way  to  make  us  partakers  of  His  Divine 
Nature,  and  inheritors  of  His  glorious,  eternal  kintçdom,  in 
Heaven. 


^3*#  %i 


9  ^ 


CHAPTER   XLVIII. 


CHRIST,    THE   JUDGE. 


One  of  the  final  results  of  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of 
God  was  to  prepare  Him,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  to  be  the  judge  of 
men  and  angels;  and  t'lat  revelation  was  coeval  with  man's  cre- 
ation and  fall,  and  mystically  foretold  a  Saviour  to  come  in 
tlie  seed  of  the  woman.  And  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam, 
described  Christ's  second  coming,  saying,  "Behold,  the  Lord 
coiïieth  witli  ten  thousand  saints,  to  execute  judgment  upon  all." 

The  Psahnist  several  times  applies  the  title  of  Judge,  to 
Clirist;  and  Daniel  describes  "His  throne  as  like  a  fiery  flame. 
His  wheels  as  burning  fire,  a  fiery  stream  issued  from  Him, 
thousand  thousands  ministered  unto  Him,  and  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thouiand  stood  before  Him;  and  the  judgment  was  set,  and 
the  Botjks  were  opened." 

Like  all  tlie  great  doctrines  of  revelation,  this  was  dimly 
revealed  at  first,  and  grew  through  centuries — as  is  seen  in  the 
traditions  of  the  Egyptians,  Chaldeans,  and  Babylonians,  and 
Oriental  nations,  and  in  the  mythology  of  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans. Homer,  Plato,  and  Virgil  wrote  of  Rliadamanthus,  Son 
of  Jupiter,  who  reigned  on.  earth  so  justly  that  he  was  made 
judge  of  Hades;  and  there  is  fin  evident  confounding  of  the 
prophecies  of  Clirist,  in  these  traditions  and  mythology. 

25 


38G  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

The  expeetntion  of  rewards  and  punishments  for  deeds  done 
here,  in  a  future  life,  seems  to  be  instinctive  in  man  ;  though  it 
is  not  strong  enough  to  impel  them  to  do  right,  or  restrain  them 
from  evil.  And  the  motive  never  was  dearly  tiiught,  until  Christ 
employed  it. 

Observation  and  experience  teacli,  that  this  world  is  disor- 
dered by  man's  violation  of  God's  physical  and  moral  laM's;  that 
injuries  and  oulrnge?  go  unpunished;  tliat  the  wicked  prosper  to 
life's  end,  and  their  victims  suffer  to  tlie  end  ;  and  multitudes  of 
wrongs  are  never  righted,  and  some  could  not  be,  even  if  the 
wionger  desired  it;  and  individuals  and  nations  commit  great 
crimes,  and  generations  live  and  die  with  their  evil  deeds  una- 
toned.  None  pass  this  life  without  cause  to  accuse  others,  or  be 
accused  of  deeds  they  wish  they  had  not  done. 

And  the  sense  of  justice  in  men  impels  them  to  form  gov- 
ernments; and  make  large  expenditures  for  Congresses,  Parlia- 
ments, and  Legislatures,  and  Courts  of  Justice,  and  Judges,  and 
Officers,  to  enact  and  execute  laws  to  secure  its  ends.  But  laws 
are  often  unjust,  judges  are  partial,  jurors  dishonest,  witnesses 
false,  and,  after  all,  human  exertions  fail  to  secure  the  objects 
desired.  Ar.d  it  would  be  an  impugnment  of  the  wisdom  and 
justice  of  God,  if  there  were  no  remedy  for  this.  It  is  reason- 
able, therefore — if  man.be  immortal,  and  God  be  just  and  holy — 
that  there  should  be  some  final  remedy,  whereby  these  wrongs 
will  be  righted;  and  our  Saviour  declared  that  there  will  be  a 
general  resurrection,  that  there  may  be  a  general  judgment,  and 
rewards  and  punishments  which  will  be  eternal.  This  is  also 
reasonable  ;  because,  as  the  body  is  the  chief  cause  and  seat  of 
gin. — so,  also,  should  it  live  again,  to  be  rewarded  or  punished 
•with  the  immortal  spirit  which  co-operated  in  its  sin. 

This  belief  in  God's  final  and  infinite  justice — that  He  will 
•one  day  avenge  the  wrongs  and  reward  the  good  deeds  of  men 
— has  done  nnich  to  help  preserve  the  belief  of  a  future  judg- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  387 

ment,  to  sustain  tliem  under  injustice,  und  encourage  them  to 
acts  of  benevolence.  Eut  it  is  only  tince  Christ,  tlmt  it  has 
been  a  moral  force;  and  mankind  have  believed  that  there  will 
be  infinite  wisdom  and  justice  in  every  judgment,  because  the 
Soa  of  God,  who  has  been  tempted,  suffered  and  died  in  a  luiinan 
nature,  as  tlie  Son  of  Man,  will  !.e  the  Judge.  Therefore,  we  are 
sure  His  justice  will  be  tempered  with  mercy;  and  none  will  be 
able  to  say  that  they  have  not  had  the  bet  Judge,  and  the  fairest 
judgment,  which  were  in  the  power  of  an  Almig^ity,  Holy,  and 
loving  God  and  Father  to  provide. 

Christ  taught  the  Jews  that  He  was  Judge  in  Heaven,  be- 
fore His  incarnation,  saying,  "The  Fatlier  hath  committed  all 
judgment  to  the  Son;"  and  Pie  condemned  and  cast  out  the 
fallen  angels.  And  it  is  in  virtue  of  His  original  judicial  power 
as  the  Son  of  God,  that  the  Father  made  Him  Judge  of  this 
world,  as  the  Son  of  Man.  And  there  is  hardly  anything  relat- 
ing to  our  future  life  that  He  revealed  more  about,  than  the 
final  judgment.  He  called  it,  coming  in  His  glory — saying, 
"When  tlie  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  His  glory,  and  all  the 
holy  angels  with  Him,  then  shall  He  sit  upon  the  throne  of  His 
glory;  and  before  Him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations.  And  the 
angels  will  separate  the  righteous  from  the  wcked;  and  to  one 
He  will  say,  "Come  ye  blessed  of  My  Father,  inherit  the  king- 
dom prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world;"  and 
to  the  others  He  will  say,  "Depart  from  Me,  ye  cursed,  int</ 
everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels." 

In  a  discourse  to  the  Jews,  at  Jerusalem,  when  they  first 
began  to  desire  to  kill  Him,  Ho  told  them  that  Ho  had  this 
power — to  judge — from  tlie  Father,  as  the  Son  of  Man.  Christ, 
as  the  Son.  of  God,  had  the  first  authority  with  the  Father;  but 
Christ,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  had  it  by  commission  from  the  Father 
and  the  Son.  And  the  reason  He  gave  t]ios3  inimical  men  was 
a  warning  to  them,  that  all  should  honor  the  Son,  even  as  they 


SÎJ  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

honor  the  Father;  His  juiiicial  circuit  euihraces  the  wliole  uni* 
verse,  1  ecaiise  lie  is  to  judge  angels,  and  devils,  and  men. 

It  was  a  warning  aiiuinst  their  denial  and  rejection  of  Him, 
and  He  further  tignitied  wlien  and  what  the  penalty  would  be. 
"•  For  the  hour  is  coming-  in  which  all  who  are  in  th  ir  :.  raves 
shall  hear  His  voice,  and  shall  come  forth;  they  who  have  done 
good  unto  tlie  Resurrection  of  Life,  and  they  who  have  done 
evil  unto  the  Ke^urr.ction  of  Damnation."  Then  and  there. 
He,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  would  be  the  judge;  and,  in  the  charge 
He  gave  the  Twelve  Apostles,  when  He  first  sent  them  out  to 
teach.  He  authorized  them  to  say,  "Whosoever  shall  confess  Me 
before  men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before  My  Father  who  is  in 
Heaven;  and  whosoever  shall  deny  Me  before  men,  him  will  I 
also  deny  before  My  Father  who  is  in  Heaven." 

Our  Lord  revealed  to  His  Apostles,  while  He  was  in  the 
flesh,  many  details  which  wTre  to  precede  and  attend  that  awful 
and  sublime  event,  which,  must  be  the  grandest  scene  that  has 
ever  taken  place  in  the  whole  history  of  God  and  eternity.  The 
creation  of  the  material  universe,  so  vast  that  no  human  instru- 
ment can  discover  its  outer  bounds,  and  no  human  mind  imagine 
the  extent  of  space,  was  a  tremendous  work  of  God.  But  Christ 
said  it  would  be  burned  up  with  nnquenchable  fire;  and  th's, is 
His  own  levealed  description  of  that  day  and  tcene: 

"And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne,  an  1  Him  who  sat  on  it, 
from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the  Heaven  fled  away  ;  and  there 
was  found  no  place  for  them.  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and 
great,  stand  before  God  ;  and  the  books  were  opened  ;  and  an- 
other Book  was  opened,  which  is  the  Book  of  Life;  and  the  dead 
were  judged  out  of  those  things  whicli  were  \vritten  in  the  Books 
according  to  tl.eir  works.  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  that 
were  in  it;  and  death  and  Hades  delivered  up  the  dead  which 
were  in  them;  and  they  wero  jud.ed,  every  man  according  to 
their  works.     And  Death  and  Hades  were  cast  into  the  Lake  of 


LIFEOFCHRIST.  289 

Fire.  This  is  the  second  death.  And  wliososver  was  not  found 
written  in  the  Book  of  Life,  was  cast  into  t]ie  Lake  of  Fire. 
And  I  saw  a  new  Heaven  and  a  new  earth,  for  the  first  Heaven 
and  the  first  earth  had  pased  away;  and  there  was  no  more 
sea." 

St.  Peter  also  sa^^s,  "The  Heavers  nnd  the  earth  whicli  arc 
now  by  the  s.ime  AYord  (one  of  Clirist's  titles)  are  kept  in  stn-e, 
reserved  unto  fire  against  the  Day  of  Judgment,  and  perdition 

of  ungodly  men But  the  day  of  the  L  rd  wi.l  come  as  a  thief 

in  the  night;  in  the  which  the  Heavens  shall  pass  away  v^ith  a 
great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat;  the 
earth,  also,  and  the  worl-:s  that  are  therein,  shall  be  burned  up." 

Now,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  though  neither  St.  Peter, 
nor  the  philosophers  of  his  day,  knew  anything  of  the  nature  o!: 
the  elements  of  which  the  Earth  t-.nd  Heavens  (the  worlds  in 
space)  are  composed,  yet  this  is  a  strictly  scientific  explanation 
of  what  will  take  place,  should  there  be  a  universal  combustion 
of  the  created  universe.  First,  he  says,  the  material  worlds  "are 
kept  in  store,  reserved  unto  fire  against  the  Day  of  Judgment;" 
and  modern  science  teaches  that  there  is  leserved,  or  stored,  in 
the  enr;li  and  solar  system,  about  one-lialf  of  their  bulk,  the 
inflammable  and  most  combustablo  element  of  oxygen;  andtliat 
a  slight  chemical  chano;e  in  the  elements  would  krndle  tlie  whole 
into  a  burning  mass,  filling  the  vi-ible  space  with  a  sea  of  flame, 
and  the  awf  .1  resounding  explosion  of  the  burning  worlds.  And 
is  not  this  a  new  and  modern  kind  of  proof  of  our  Lord's  fore- 
knowledge and  Divinity,  and  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  as  a 
Divine  revelation;  for  it  is  only  a  century  since  oxygen  was  dis- 
covered; and  the  Apostles  say  what  they  wr  te  after  Christ's 
Ascension,  thc}^  had  learned  from  Him.     (1  Cor.  xlv:37.) 

This  sublin.e  and  awful  pyrotechny  is  to  give  grandeur  and 
glov}^  to  our  Lord's  Secon  1  Advent,  in  His  glorified  pe:s  n — to 
sit,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  in  judgiuent   on  the  world;  there,  on 


390  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

His  great  white  throne,  in  the  vast  space  from  which  the  worlds 
have  disappeared,  will  He  assemble  before  Him  the  quick  and 
dead  of  men,  ^md  the  angels;  and  the  Books  will  be  opened,  as 
He  has  foretold.  He  said  before  His  crucifixion,  that,  as  the 
8on  of  Man,  He  did  not  know  when  tlie  day  would  be;  but,  in 
God's  reckoning,  it  would  not  be  a  great  wh  le;  and  His  Church 
must  pray,  and  be  ready  to  m'eet  it,  because  He  would  corao 
suddenly,  and  when  men  did  not  expect  it.  But  after  His  glori- 
fication in  the  God-head,  He  knew  when  it  weuld  be;  and  He 
h:is  ever  since  been  making  preparations  in  Heaven  and  on  Earth 
for  its  coming. 

And,  as  He  told  the  Apostles  the  evening  before  His  cruci- 
fixion, that  He  was  about  to  leave  them,  but  would  return  in  a 
little  while — and  He  w-as  absent  only  three  days;  and  after  His 
resurrection  promised  to  be  with  them  until  the  end  of  the  world, 
and  staid  with  them  only  forty  days  after  His  resurrection — it 
was  reasonable  that  they  should  look  for  His  return  soon,  from 
Heaven,  and  for  the  Judgment. 

But  after  the  Holy  Ghost  came  and  enlightened  them,  tliey 
saw  that  thure  were  many  prophecies  of  Christ  to  be  fulfilled 
before  the  end  ;  nevertheless,  every  "entury  since,  there  has  been 
«n  alarm  sounded  that  He  was  about  to  come.  But  the  old 
Hebrew  tradition  was — that  the  world  would  last  six  of  God's 
days,  of  a  thousand  years  ;  and  that  the  epoch  would  have  a 
morning,  a  noon,  and  an  evening — the  morning  was  from  Adam 
to  Noah,  the  noon  from  Noah  to  Christ,  and  the  evening  from 
His  fii'st  to  His  second  coming.  And  St.  Paul  said,  "  Now,  once, 
in  the  end  of  the  world,  hath  Christ  appeared,  to  put  away  sin 
by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself."  By  the  Hebrew  tradition  and 
chronology,  the  world  has  more  than  a  century  yet  to  survive; 
but  nearly  all  our  Lord's  prophecies,  which  were  to  precede  the 
end,  are  fulfilled  and  fulfilling. 

Only  a  few  shepherds  and  the  Holy  Angels  were  witnesses 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  391 

of  Hio  first  coming;  but  when  He  comes  again  it  will  be  in  the 
iilory  of  the  Godhead,  and  every  eye  shall  behold  Him.  Only  a 
few  more  of  our  Lord's  prophecies  remain  to  be  fulfilled,  tliut 
the  Gospel  shall  be  preached,  over  all  the  world — not  that  all 
nations  shall  be  converted — but  shall  have  the  Gospel  offered  to 
them;  that  chains  shall  be  broken  from  all  slaves,  knowledge 
shall  I'un  to  and  fro,  and  men  become  like  gods,  by  their  dis- 
coveries and  inventions,  the  Jews  engrafted  back  on  to  their 
original  stock  in  Christ's  kingdom,  and  all  political  power  be 
severed  from  the  Church — then  the  end  will  be. 

And  Christ  has  told  us  how  the  day  will  be  ushered  in  ;  it 
Avill  be  a  common  day,  just  like  any  other — no  sign  of  its  ap- 
proach— men  will  be  buying  and  selling,  and  marrying,  and  giv- 
ing in  marriage  ;  just  as  they  were  when  the  deluge  came,  and 
lire  from  Heaven  consumed  Sodom  and  Gomorroh:  suddenly  the 
trump  of  the  Arch-angel  will  sound  to  herald  the  Son,  tlie  dead 
will  awake,  tlie  living  cliange  to  spiritual  bodies — as  they  ascend 
on  the  air  to  meet  the  Lord — and  as  tlie  exploded  worlds  pass 
aw^ay,  angels  and  men  will  stand  before  Christ,  and  the  Judgment 
will  begin.  And  the  Lord  thus  describes  the  closing  scene: 
"When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  His  glory,  and  all  the 
Holy  Angels  with  Him,  then  shall  He  sit  upon  the  throne  of 
His  glory  :  and  before  Him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations  ;  and 
He  shall  separate  them,  one  from  another,  as  a  sheplierd  divideth 
his  sheep  from  the  goats:  and  He  shall  set  the  sheep  on  His 
right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left.  Then  shall  the  King  say 
(here  He  will  be  in  His  Divine  Royalty,  King  of  His  Kingdom, 
not  of  this  world)  unto  them  on  the  right  hand;  Come,  ye  bless- 
ed of  My  Fathei-,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you,  from 

the  foundation  of  the  world Then   shall  He   say,  also,  unto 

them  on  the  left  hand,  Depart  from  Me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlast- 
ing lire  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  And  these 
shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment;  but  the  righteous  into 


392  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

life  ete  nal."  St.  Paul  says,  "  God  hath  appointed  the  day  in 
which  He  will  judge  the  world  in  rig-liteousness,  hy  that  Man 
whom  He  hath  ordained,  whereof  He  hath  given  assurance  un- 
to all  men,  in  that  He  hath  raised  Him  from  the  d  ad."  And 
Christ,  who  is  the  Judge,  has  revealed  to  us  that  His  judgment 
will  be  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body;  and  there 
will  be  no  appeal  from  His  decision,  and  never  any  reconsider- 
ation of  His  judgment — but  the  rewards  and  punishments  will 
be  unchangeable  and  eternal. 

Nothing  is  said  of  any  judgment  on  our  faith,  or  relig- 
ious experience,  because  no  man  will  do  rightly  unless  he  lirst 
believes  rightly;  acts  tell  the  character  of  the  faith,  thoughts, 
and  desires  of  the  mind  and  will.  And  as  these  are  the  main 
spring  of  human  acts,  we  shall  be  judged  for  all  the  thoughts 
and  desires  of  the  whole  life;  for  thoughts  which  came  un 
bidden,  and  were  harb'''red  or  repulsed,  thoughts  which  we 
had  forc;otten  while  living,  and  which  we  would  give  all  the 
world,  were  it  ours,  that  we  had  never  thought — all  will  come 
before  Christ,  and  be  weighed  in  the  balance  of  His  infinite 
judgment. 

And  if  we  shudder  at  the  thought  of  such  a  scrutiny,  what 
will  be  the  feeling  of  shame  at  having  a  whole  life  exposed  be- 
fore the  assembly  of  men  and  angels;  words  of  impurity,  dis- 
honesty and  injustice;  and  deeds  of  shame,  ^'hereby  we  have 
defiled  bodies  made  in  God's  likeness,  and  dishonored  Him! 
And  these  deeds  will  not  come  up  then  as  memory  recalls  them 
now — one  by  one — there  will  be  no  past,  but  all  present;  all  the 
good  and  all  the  evil  done  here,  works  of  love  and  mercy,  and 
works  of  hatred  and  meanness,  all  the  neglected  or  wasted  oppor- 
tunities of  the  whcde  life,  will  rise  up  together,  and  flash  in  one 
awful  aggregate  before  our  minds,  as  well  as  the  Judge's.  Sins 
repented  of,  and  unrepented  sins,  will  be  seen  as  we  never  saw 
them    before — in    the  light  of    Christ's  presence,  and  of  their 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  393 

etera.al  consequences,  and  will  fill  us  with  a  joy  or  sorrow  that 
will  never  end. 

There  will  be  three  unimpeachable  witnesses,  to  testify  for 
and  against  us — the  Holy  Spirit,  Satan,  and  our  own  Conscience; 
from  this  tribunal  tliere  will  not  only  be  no  appeal:  but  when 
Christ  pronounces  His  judgment  all  mouths  will  be  silenced,  and 
every  person  will  admit  that  His  sentence  is  perfectly  just;  and 
that  the  love  and  mercy  of  a  loving  God,  and  Heavenly  Father, 
conld  not  have  rendered  it  otherwise,  and  been  true  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  eternal  justice. 

Only  oi^e  thing  more  is  revealed  of  the  mysteries,  which  are 
on  the  other  side  of  our  resurrection  life,  and  the  day  of  judg- 
ment—and that  is,  all  God  purposed  in  the  works  of  Creation  will 
be  accomplished,  righteous  men  will  be  like  Christ  as  He  is  like 
God,  wicked  men  will  be  like  Satan;  the  righteous  will  enter  on 
an  ever  increasing  knowledge  of  God,  the  wicked  on  an  unend- 
ing hopeless  despair.  St.  John  says,  "Now  are  we  the  sons  of 
God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  ;  but  we  knoAv 
that  when  He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall 
see  Him  as  He  is."  And  St.  Paul  says,  "When  Christ,  who  is 
our  life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  we  also  appear  with  Him  in 
glory;"  and  "We  all  with  open  faces  beholding  as  in  a  glass 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  are  (shall  be)  changed  into  the  sanje  image 
from  glory  to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord." 

"  Then  cometh  the  end,  when  He  shall  have  delivered  up 
the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father,  and  when  He  shall  have 
put  down  all  rule,  and  all  authority  and  power;  for  He  must 
reign,  till  He  hath  put  all  enemies  under  His  feet.  Tiie  last 
enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is  Death.  For  He  hath  put  all 
things  under  His  feet.  But  when  He  saith  all  things  are  put 
under  Him,  it  is  manifest  that  He  is  excepted  who  did  put  all 
things  under  Him.  And  when  all  things  shall  be  subdued  unto 
Hin),  then  shall  the  Son,  also.  Himself,  be  subject  to  Him  who 


394 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST, 


put  all  things  under  Him,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all."  And 
what  this  means,  we  must  wait  to  learn;  wait  until  tiiat  day, 
when.  "  we  shall  see  as  we  are  seen,  and  know  as  we  are  known." 


CHAPTER  XLIX; 


CONCLUSION. 


In  this  wide  and  rtipid  survey  of  the  life  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  we  see  that  His  greatest  revelat'on  was  Himself — the 
model  of  perfect  manhood,  the  ideal  of  human  perfection,  a 
human  character  without  blemish,  immaculate;  yet,  in  His  expe- 
rience, something  to  teach  all  men,  in  every  exigency  of  liuinan 
life;  while  His  Resurrection,  Ascension,  and  sending  the  Holy 
Ghost,  prove  that  He  was  more  than  man — the  Incarnate  Son 
of  God,  And  His  doctrines  were  but  the  development  of  the 
spiritual  nature  of  the  religion  God  gave  men  in  the  beginning, 
adapting  it  to  man's  spiritual  nature,  as  it  never  could  have 
been  without  His  Incarnation. 

From  the  first  annovncement  of  the  Incarnation  in  the  seed 
of  the  woman,  all  subsequent  prophecy  was  a  series  of  prepara- 
tion for  that  event;  and  all  the  extraordinary  events  in  Christ's 
life  were  continuous  fulfillments  of  prophec3^  And  in  all  His 
teaching,  extending  over  more  than  three  years,  there  is  not  one 
iota  of  error,  contradiction,  or  discrepancy,  or  change  of  His 
opinions — such  as  one  sees  in  the  writings  of  the  ablest  scholars 
— but  perfect  uniformity  and  agreement  in  all  He  said  and  did. 
And  that  is  a  remarkable  proof  of  His  Divinity,  because  none 
but  God  is  jrerfect,  and  "He  cliarges  His  angels  with  folly;" 


396  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

none  but  God  never  contradicts  his  own  sayings,  or  doings; 
none  but  God  is  sinless,  as  Christ  was;  and  no  other  man  could 
challenge  his  enemies,  and  the  generation  in  which  He  lived,  to 
accuse  him  of  sin,  and  yet  escape  unconvicted. 

And  as  we  look  back  over  the  world's  history,  we  see  the 
One  Man,  Christ  Jesus,  standing  there  as  the  great  dividing  line 
between  the  two  worlds,  or  civilizations — which  existed  before 
and  since  His  advent,  between  the  moral  darkness  of  the  old 
world,  and  tlie  spiritual  enlightenment  of  the  new.  He  first 
tauo'ht  the  relations  between  the  physical  and  spiritual  worlds, 
by  the  analogies  of  tlieir  mutual  laws,  and  modern  science  ti-aces 
to  His  modes  of  reasoning  its  first  beginnings;  by  seeing  how 
Christ  thought,  mankind  has  learned  how  to  think.  Judaism 
had  but  little  art,  and  no  science;  and  the  cause  of  the  downfall 
of  ancient  civilization  was  want  of  knowledge  of  science.  And 
the  new  spiritual  force  given  by  Christ  to  the  human  mind, 
enabled  it  to  discover  the  laws  of  nature,  and  improve  soils,  in- 
crease crops,  and  make  new  inventions  to  benefit  the  racé,  as 
well  as  to  strusîgle  out  of  its  moral  darkness  to  a  higher  right- 
eousness. The  old  world  longed  for  a  Deliverer  from  its  bond- 
age* the  new  world  has  longed  for  conformity  to  the  likeness  of 
the  Deliverer,  and  this  has  created  a  new  civilization. 

With  Christ  began  not  only  a  more  spiritual  religion,  but 
also  a  new  means  of  grace,  aftev  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
to  help  men  rise  above  themselves;  a  new  movement  was  given 
to  society,  which  revolutionized  the  civil,  social,  and  domestic 
order  of  things.  And  from  that  little  central  land  of  Judea,  the 
lio-ht  of  Christ's  life  and  righteousness  has  rolled  out  like  a  sea 
of  o-lory  over  all  the  earth — and  was  never  more  potential  than 
j^o^v until  His  Church  has  made  Christendom  the  world's  cen- 
ter of  light,  as  He  made  Galilee. 

From  this  general  review  of  Cln-ist's  life  and  doctrines,  it  is 
apparent  that  He  was  conscious  from  the  beginning  of  His  min- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  397 

istry  ;  and  partially  so  from  eliildhood,  of  His  two-fold  nature  a? 
the  God-MAN — and  that  He  sometimes  spake  with  reference  to 
His  Imman  nature,  as  tlic  Son  of  Man;  and  sometimes  of  His 
doings  as  the  Son  of  God.  Yet,  in  this  latter  sense,  always  enig- 
matically, so  that  no  Apostle  believed  Him  a  person  of  the  God- 
head, while  He  was  Avith  them;  because  it  was  iiut  revealed 
until  after  His  resurrection-  -first,  in  the  commission  to  baptize 
in  the  name  of  the  three  Divine  Persons;  and  second,  when  the 
Holy  Ghost  came  and  (-nlightened  their  minds;  and  for  some 
time  it  was  held  as  a  sacred  mysteiy,  to  be  told  only  to  believers. 
And  this  looks  strange  to  us,  onlj^  because  we  were  born,  bap- 
tized, and  trained  in  its  knowledge.  There  was  the  same  reason 
for  concealing  it  for  a  time  from  the  world,  as  there  was  for  not 
revealing  it  to  tiie  disciples — it  was  not  able  to  bear  it, 

Christ's  Divinity,  which  was  rejected  as  blasphemy  by  the 
Jews,  and  denied  by  the  Gnostics,  has  ever  since  been  a  subject 
of  skepticism  in  the  world  ;  yet  the  doctrine  has  outlived  all  the 
great  persecutions  and  assaults  of  unbelievers,  and  the  opposi- 
tion of  men  and  nations  for  two  thousand  years — the  Rock  of 
Eternity  in  the  Ocean  of  Time — and  it  will  continue  the  belief 
of  the  best  and  most  enlightened  of  mankind  until  Christ  comes 
again;  millions  on  earth  and  in  Paradise  are  called  Christians 
after  Him,  and  consider  it  the  greatest  glory  and  the  highest 
honor  God  or  man  can  confer.  And  the  truth  of  His  Divinity 
is  now  confirmed  by  the  fact,  that,  after  all  that  has  been  said 
against  the  do'-trine,  time  has  added  new  profs  in  the  fulfill- 
ment of  His  prophecies  ;  and  after  all  that  has  been  written  re- 
specting His  life  and  character,  the  originality,  grandeur,  and 
glory  of  it,  are  yet  unexhausted,  unexhaustable. 

In  announcing  Himself  the  Light  of  the  world,  Christ  de- 
clared Himself  the  Author  of  a  higher  knowledge  than  the 
world  before  had — a  knowledge  from  God,  which  has  ever  since 
been  gradually  illuminating  the  realms  of  Theology  and  Science, 


898  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

as  it  is  liidden  in  His  created  and  written  revelations;  and  mod- 
ern science,  and  our  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  force,  and  mind, 
and  matter,  and  the  universe,  date  tlieir  rise  from  Him. 

And  yet,  after  all  our  modern  discoveries,  we  yet  find  tlie 
same  mj'steries  encompassing  us  that  existed  in  Christ's  life  and 
works;  the  correlation  of  the  forces  of  nature,  which  have  been 
discovered,  are  as  much  a  mystery  as  the  unity  of  tlie  Three 
J^ivine  Persons  in  the  Grod-head.  And  thus  the  revelations 
nnitnally  confirm  each  other  as  from  one  God;  and  are  one  of 
our  best  proofs  that  God,  who  created  the  material  universe,  is 
our  God  and  Saviour. 

The  mysteries  of  Christ's  life  and  religion — so  far  from  being 
a  hinderance  to  believing  in  the  one,  and  practicing  the  other — 
are  confirmations  of  His  claim  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  and  the 
Creator  of  the  universe;  because  every  wliere  we  see  the  same 
,kind  of  mysteries,  and  we  find  that  those  in  the  natural  world 
do  not  intefere  with  the  pleasures  or  duties  of  this  life,  but 
ratlier  quicken  the  mind  to  new  research;  so  neither  do  the 
mysteries  of  religion  in  any  way  hinder  the  practice  of  its  duties, 
but  inspire  us  with  reverence  for  the  greater  wisdom  of  God. 

And  from  whatever  point  we  look  at  Christ's  life.  He  ap- 
pears to  be  not  only  a  man  eminently  endowed  by  God,  like  the 
prophets,  and  such  a  Saviour  as  the  Jews  expected,  but  far  more 
as  a  superhuman  person  ;  not  the  Son  of  God  veiled  in  a  human 
body,  but  the  very  God  the  Son,  conjoined  in  a  human  nature, 
so  as  to  make  Him  the  one  and  only  God-MAN,  such  as  never 
before  or  since  appeared  in  our  world — and  by  which  He  was 
litted  to  be  the  Redeemer,  Saviour,  and  Judge  of  mankind. 

The  doctrine  of  future  rewards,  and  punishments,  Cin-ist  re- 
vealed, and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  gave  to  the  race,  as 
time  moved  on,  a  sobriety  and  energy  of  thought,  that  enabled 
the  human  mind  to  grapple  with  the  laws  and  mysteries  of 
nature — wliicli  increased  for  centuries,  until  it  reached  its  present 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  399 

condition,  in  which  men,  have  become  like  God,  in  knowledge 
of  the  Laws  and  forces  of  nature,  and  in  applying  them  to  their 
own  use, and  improvement. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how  Clu'ist  looked  in  the 
prime  of  His  manhood  ;  but  little  is  said  of  His  personal  appear- 
ance to  gratify  curiosity,  l)ecause  it  would  be  of  no  practical 
benefit,  and  our  love  and  reverence  depend  only  on  His  Divine 
nature  and  character. 

There  is'  but  little  in  tlie  Prophets  or  Evangelists  tliat  ena- 
bles us  to  form  any  ideal  of  Christ,  as  the  Son  of  Man  ;  a  veil 
of  mystery  hangs  over  His  face  and  form,  as  there  is  over  every 
thing  in  His  superhuman  life.  The  Psalmist  foretells  Him  "as 
altogct!:er  lovely;"  Isaiah  calls  Him  "the  King  in  His  beauty." 
and,  again,  "there  is  no  beauty  in  Him;"  and  Zachariah  extols 
"His  greatness  and  His  goodness  and  beauty."  And  there  is  only 
one  saying  in  the  Gospel  that  gives  any  idea  of  His  person, 
where  the  Jews  said  to  Him,  "Thou  art  not  yet  fifty  years  old;" 
indicating  that  He  looked  much  older  tlian  He  was.  St.  John 
says,  "We  beheld  His  glory  as  the  gloiy  of  the  only  begotten  of 
the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth;"  the  grace  may  refer  to  His 
refined  manners  and  majestic  presence,  and  the  truth  to  His  holy 
life  .and  doctrines — but  we  can  only  imagine  the  meaning. 

These  conflicting  statements  bewilder  us  respecting  His  per- 
sonal appearance;  and  there  is  little  probability  that  the  lovely 
description  of  Christ,  tlie  pen-portrait,  by  Publius  Lentulus  is 
genuine;  and  the  representations  made  by  Clemens  of  Alexan- 
dria, Ju.-tin  Martyr,  TertuHian,  and  Origen,  are  some  of  the 
various  early  traditions  that  are  v/ithout  any  satisfactory  corrob- 
oration. But  while  hardly  anything  is  known  of  His  likeness, 
there  is  abundance  as  to  His  character,  that  is  of  vastly  more 
consesequence;  the  awe  He  inspired  in  His  enemies,  the  reverence 
of  His  disciples,  the  confidence  and  love  of  children,  the  absence 
of  pride  and  self-assertion,  and  His  courtesy  and  benevolence, 


400  LIFEOFCHRIST. 

îtrid  tlic  love  of  tlic  people,  assure  us  that  there  was  an  inexpres- 
sible charm — tlie  beauty  of  holiness  in  His  face,  a  Divine  sweet- 
ness whicli  made  His  manhood  so  perfect  that  no  insult  or 
injury  provoked  Him  to  retort  or  revile;  and  nothing-  hut  hypoc- 
risy or  unbelief  caused  Him  to  rebuke  His  enemies. 

And  from  the  brief  records  of  His  earthly  life — from  child- 
hood to  the  end — it  appears  full  of  mingled  meekness  and 
majesty,  of  firmness  and  gentleness,  of  candor  and  i-eserve; 
free  from  every  morbid  tendency  to  fanaticism  or  excitement, 
of  pride  or  vain  glory,  of  impetuosity  or  weakness,  or  any 
desire  for  earthly  fame  or  glory,  or  any  kind  of  one-sidedness. 
Twic?,  only,  is  He  said  to  have  wept — and  never  once  to  have 
smiled. 

While  He  manifested  all  that  belongs  to  the  highest  concep- 
tion of  perfect  Manhood,  and  all  the  power  and  love  of  God — 
such  as  had  never  been  seen  in  any  man — there  was,  also,  in 
Him  another  characteristic,  equally  original — a  feminine  deli- 
cacy and  tenderness,  which  belonged  only  to  Him,  as  the  Seed 
of  the  Woman,  and  the  Son  of  God;  and  gave  a  peculiar 
courtesy  and  charm  to  His  manners  ;  and  which,  so  far  as  it 
was  imitable,  v/ould  exalt  His  disciples  above  any  other  gener- 
ation that  had  ever  lived. 

And  His  enemies  then — as  unbelievers  now  are — were  com- 
pelled to  confess  that  He  lived  such  a  life  as  no  other-  man  ever 
lived,  taught  as  none  other  ever  taught,  and  made  such  an  im- 
pression on  our  world  as  no  other  man  ever  did,  and  that  truth 
was  never  more  apparent  than  now. 

Men  deny  His  miracles  now,  because  they  arc  "impossil)le 
from  the  immutable  laws  of  Nature,"  as  if  laws  were  uncontrol- 
able  by  their  Maker,  and  they  suppose  the  fact  of  His  Divinity^ 
and  the  truth  of  His  religion,  depended  on  them;  whereas  He 
never  wrought  one  to  prove  His  Divinitj'',  and  but  one  to  (;on- 
vince  men  that  He  had  power  to  forgive  sins;  and  they  are  of 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  401 

no  consequence,  as  proofs  of  His  Messiahship,  except  as  collat- 
eral to  confirm  His  snperlniinan  life  and  character.  Tlie  most 
He  ever  said  respecting  His  miracles,  was,  "If  ye  do  not  believe 
Me,  believe  My  Avorks  ;  "  and  if  no  one  had  ever  been  recorded 
in  the  Gospels,  or  He  had  nevev  wronght  one,  there  would  yet 
remain  the  imperisliable  miracles  wrought  after  His  death — of 
His  Resurrection  and  As(;eusion  to  Heaven — which  have  been 
preserved  by  the  two  great  Festivals,  3'early  celebrated  by  His 
Church;  and  the  stupendous  results  His  religion  has  produced  in 
elevating  men  and  nations,  and  the  civilization  and  science  tliat 
it  has  created  in  Christendom.  The  miracles  are  but  the  dust  in 
the  balances  to  in-ove  His  Divinity,  in  comparison  with  His  holy 
life,  His  Divine  character,  and  the  ever  increasing  power  of  His 
righteousness  in  the  mind  of  each  Chiistian,  and  His  Holy  Cath- 
olic Clmr(.'h,  which  lightens  the  whole  world. 

No  other  man  bearing  any  likeness  to  Christ — or  claiming, 
as  He  did,  to  be  one  with  Almighty  God,  who  lived  and  wrought 
as  He  did  to  prove  it — has  ever  appeared  on  earth;  no  other 
man  has  told  so  much  of  the  mysteries  of  God,  of  man's  future 
life,  or  of  the  results  which  his  own  life  would  produire  in  future 
ages,  as  He  did.  As  the  Son  of  God,  He  personated  Adam,  as 
he  was  created  holy — the  crown  and  glory  of  the  visible  crea- 
tion; as  the  Son  of  Man,  He  personated  Adam  in  his  sinful- 
ness, made  subject  to  the  law,  to  temptations,  trials,  and  death — 
with  ont  sin  Himself,  but  made  an  offering  for  sin — to  save  man 
from  its  power  and  penalty,  and  that  He  might  be  a  merciful 
Judge. 

In  the  God-MAN,  Christ  Jesus,  the  second  Adam,  we  see 
how  o-lorious  nian's  original  nature  was,  and  what  He  is  yet 
capable  of  becoming;  because,  through  Chi-ist  in  the  Spirit,  wo 
are  made  partakers  of  the  Divine  nature,  and  <'an,  or  shall  in  a 
future  life,  be  raised  above  what  Adam  was  before  his  fall — to 
a  sinless  and  immortal  state.    For  St.  Paul  says,  "  When  Christ, 


402  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

wlio  is  onr  life,  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Ilim,  and  shall  see 
Him  as  He  is." 

The  secret  of  Clirist's  power  in  onr  world,  is  becanse  He  is 
God — as  it  is  seen  in  His  disroirard  of  earthly  riches,  fame,  or 
glory,  which  men  so  de~ire  and  strive  for;  and  because  He  re- 
vealed such  knowledge  of  God  and  man,  of  Heaven  and  Hell, 
of  time  and  eternity,  as  none  bnt  God  could  know,  and  made 
prophecies  which  luive  been  fulfilled,  and  have  produced  sucli 
results  on  earth  as  none  but  God  could. 

Great  Prophets  before  Ciirist  revealed  God's  will,  wrought 
miracles,  and  taught  men  to  be  holy,  because  God  is  holy;  but 
all  of  them  were  stained  by  sin.  None  claimed  to  be  God's 
Son;  none  had  righteousness  like  His;  none  taught  by  a  per- 
sonal Divine,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you;"  none  said,  "1 
have  given  you  an  example;"  none  called  the  weary  and  heavy 
laden,  and  said,  "Oonie,  and  I  will  give  you  rest;"  and  none 
ever  said  to  a  sinner,  "I  say  unto  you,  your  sins  are  forgiven.'" 

Every  stage  of  Jesus'  life,  from  His  conception  to  His 
ascension,  was  a  continuous  fultillnient  of  prophecy;  He  had  no 
pride,  ambition,  or  self-assertion;  He  declined  all  eartldy  lionor^. 
chose  His  Apostles  from  lowly  and  unleatned  men,  and  was  with 
them  as  a  servant;  He  courted  no  society  or  favors  from  tlie 
noble  or  rich,  exacted  no  special  reverence  from  His  disciples, 
and  never  looked  down  on  the  chiefest  of  sinners,  but  raised  the 
fallen  and  broken  hearted. 

It  was  with  no  vain  glory  that  He  declared  Himself  the 
Son  of  God,  but  that  He  might  persuade  men  to  believe  and  be 
saved;  and,  as  the  Son  of  Man,  He  submitted  to  the  Law  and 
the  suffering  of  death,  for  our  salvation. 

When  multitudes  flocked  to  hear  His  teaching,  or  see  His 
miracles,  it  caused  Him  no  elation  ;  when  they  wanted  to  make 
Him  a  king.  He  withdrew  Himself;  and  His  divinest  character- 
istic was  His  deep  humilit}'.     God,  in  man's  nature,  assaulted 


LIFE    OF     CHRIST.  403 

by  wicked  men  and  devils,  and  suffering  death  at  men's  han<ls: 
and  no  grea'.er  liumility  or  condescension  can  be  imagined,  tiian 
tliat. 

Ai;'nin,  wlicn  the  tide  of  popiihirity  turned,  and  tlie  Riilers 
of  tlio  Jews  began  to  seek  His  life — M'hen  Judas  betrayed  Him, 
tlie  Apostles  deserted,  Peter  denied,  the  High  Priest  condemned, 
and  Pihite  unjustly  assented  to  His  crucifixion— He  made  no 
complaint,  offered  no  plea  as  a  ground  to  save  Himself  from  tlie 
ignominious  death;  but  confessed  Himself  the  Son  of  God,  and 
fi.r  it  suffered  death  for  man.  On  the  cross.  He  said  nothing  of 
the  injustice  which  put  Him  there — He  was  satisfying  God's 
justice  for  the  sins  of  a  whole  Avoidd — and  He  prayed  for  His 
murderers.  With  Christ,  His  life  and  religion  were  one,  because 
He  is  holy,  and  His  life  eternal;  and  where  His  life  is  now  in 
men,  they  have  a  righteousness  in  some  degree  like  His.  Faith 
in  this  personal  Christ  is  tlie  foundation  of  all  Christian  life  and 
ciiaracter,  and  the  only  way  to  develop  a  Christian  manhood  like 
His;  we  sne  the  beauty  of  holiness  and  love  in  His  character, 
and  they  inspire  us  with  longings  to  be  like  Him.  And  His 
unquenchable  love  for  God's  old  kingdom  and  people — a  people 
who  were  to  take  His  life,  and  were  so  little  worthy  of  His  love 
— is  a  proof  of  His  Sonship  to  God,  which  no  argument  c:,). 
weaken;  because  it  is  such  love  as  none  but  God,  under  tlu 
circumstances,  could  show. 

There  is  an  infinite  gap  between  Christ's  genealogy  and 
that  of  all  the  Gentile  Gods,  by  the  apotlieosis  of  their  ances- 
tors; or  who,  like  the  Egyptians,  traced  the  descent  of  their 
Gods  from  Pan;  the  Orientals,  from  Brahma;  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  from  Zeus;  and  the  Teutons,  from  Wodin.  Yet,  their 
association  of  a  human  person  in  the  God-head  was  doubtless 
the  traditional  preservation  of  the  old  expectation  of  the  Incar- 
nation, and  prepared  the  way  for  the  world  to  accept  it.  But 
there  is  no  fiction   of  that  kind  in   Christ's  genealogy.     His 


404  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

earthly  Mother  is  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  His  only  Father,  the 
ever-living  God.  And  the  preservation  of  the  pedigree  of  His 
human  nature  is  one  of  our  world's  wonders,  and  incidental 
proofs  of  His  Divinity;  because  no  royal  line  can  trace  its  ped- 
igree back  a  thousand  years,  and  no  nobles  of  England  or  France, 
where  such  records  are  best  preserved,  can  trace  their  names  or 
titles  furtlier  than  the  eleventh  century. 

Thus,  it  was,  He  left  to  tlie  world  something  in  His  exam- 
ple, which  has  over  since  served  as  a  consolation  and  support  to 
every  one  of  our  race. 

AVhen  Archbisl)op  Laud  was  led  to  execution  he  said,  "  I 
am  now  come  to  the  end  of  my  life  and  Christian  race  ;  here  I 
find  the  Cross  and  a  death  of  shame,  but  the  shame  I  must  des- 
pise, or  I  shall  not  come  to  God.  I  shall  most  willingly  drink 
this  Cup  of  the  Passover,  with  its  bitter  herbs,  as  deep  as  He 
pleases;"  and  kneeling  down  he  grayed,  "O  Eternal  God,  and 
Merciful  Father,  look  down  upon  me  in  the  riches  and  fullness 
of  Thy  mercies,  but  not  until  Thou  hast  nailed  my  sins  to  the 
Cross  of  Chri.t  ;  not  until  I  have  hid  myself  in  the  wounds  of 
Christ.*'  Again,  when  the  executioner  w^ent  to  lead  Louis  XVI 
to  the  scaffold,  and  an  official  seized  his  hands  to  bind  them,  the 
King  drew  back  sayin;^-  he  would  never  consent  to  such  an 
indignity  ;  but  the  attending  priest  said,  "  Sire  suffer  this  as 
your  last  resemblance  to  your  suffering  Saviour  ;  "  and  he 
stretched  out  his  hands,  saying,  "  Surely  I  needed  the  example 
of  the  Son  of  God  to  enable  me  to  submit."  The  power  of 
such  an  example,  centuries  after  Jesus  crucifixion,  is  a  stronger 
proof  of  His  Divinity  tluTu  all  the  miracles  He  ever  wrought  ; 
and  no  one  of  all  tlie  millions  of  our  race  has  ever  been  subject- 
ed to  such  injustice  or  cruelty,  that  he  could  not  see  in  Christ's 
example  something  to  console  or  support  him.  Nor  has  any 
Patriarch,  Prophet,  Apostle,  Saint  or  Martyr,  from  the  begin, 
ning  of  the  world  to  this  day,  ever  attained  to  such  righteous- 


LIFE    OF    CHRIST.  405 

ncss  and  wisdom — that  tliere  was  not  in  Christ  sometliing 
infinitely  beyond  them,  and  which  he  never  reached.  Every 
act  of  His  life  had  the  seal  of  Divinity,  and  every  revelation  Pie 
made  was  a  truth^  wliich  none  but  God  could  know. 

Tiiere  is  also  an  infinite  c'.asm  l)etween  the  ancient  systems 
formed  by  the  great  thinkers  of  antiquity,  and  the  doctrines  of 
Christ;  the  Yedas,  and  Precepts  of  Confucius,  the  Zendavesta 
and  tlie  Koran  all  profess  to  educate  man,  fit  him  for  the 
highest  duties  of  life,  and  bring  him  into  relation  with  the 
unseen  world,  and  to  the  God  of  their  respective  creeds— hut  in 
none  of  them  are  the  plain  revelations  of  Gospel  truths  ;  and 
none  of  them  did  anything  to  elevate  the  masses  of  the  people, 
and  raise  them  from  the  moral  darkness  and  degradation  which 
prevailed  when  Christ  came.  Jesus  was  far  in  advance  in  wis- 
dom, righteousness,  and  philosophy,  and  science,  not  only  of  His 
own  generation,  but  also  of  all  wlio  before  or  since  lived.  In 
all  the  characteristics  which  most  elevate,  dignify,  arid  adorn 
man.  He  stands  alone;  the  one  perfect,  Div^ine  model — approach- 
able by  others  from  all  sides,  but  impossible  to  reach.  He  was 
hated  and  watched  as  no  other  man  ever  was;  and  one  wrong 
act,  one  untrue  word,  one  fiaw  in  His  character,  would  have 
shattered  His  claim  to  be  the  Son  of  God — but  there  was  not 
one.  He  was  holy,  undefiled,  separate  from  sinners;  and  His 
enemies  testified  that  He  spake  the  truth,  cared  for  no  man,  and 
spake  as  no  other  man  ever  did. 

He  ever  exercised  a  superlunnan  self-restraint  towards  His 
enemies,  and  a  tenderness  and  sympathy  for  the  sick  and  afiiicted 
which  was  new  among  men,  and  originated  a  new  feeling  of 
brotlierhood  in  mankind.  It  was  the  Light,  Life,  and  Riglit- 
eousness  of  the  Son  of  God,  introduced  here  from  Heaven — 
which  revolutionized  tlie  religions,  laws,  manners,  and  customs, 
of  society,  and  created  our  modern  civilization  and  science,  filled 
Clu'istcndom  with    Catliedrah  and   Cliurches,  where   Christ   is 


406  LIFE    OF    CHRIST. 

vvorsliippetl  as  God;  which  hns  l)nilt  colleges  and  schools,  and 
hospitals  and  lionses  of  mercy,  and  institnlions  for  alleviating  all 
huiiian  snffering  and  sorrow.  And  it  is  said  that  the  first  hospi- 
tal ever  Ijuilt  on  earth  w;:s  at  Betldchcin,  where  Jesus  was  boj-n. 

And  it  is  the  power  of  His  endless  life  and  Heavenly  doc- 
trines which  have  made  this  impression  in  onr  world,  before 
wiiich  Paganism  and  heathenism  liave  gradually  receded  at  the 
triumphal  progress  of  Christianity;  and  tlie  masses  in  Christen- 
dom who  do  not  believe  or  obey  His  Gospel,  as  well  jis  the  outly- 
ing Pagans  wlio  never  heard  of  Christ,  feel  the  benefits  and  share 
in  some  of  the  blessings  which  flow  out  from  Christendom — while 
His  Church  has  resisted  the  assaults  of  all  her  enemies  that  have 
daslied  against  her  foundations,  for  nineteen  centuries,  without 
impairing  their  strengtii  ;  and  they  liave  fallen  forgotten,  like 
foam  into  the  ocean  of  time,  and  like  the  waves  of  the  sea  beat- 
ing a  roek-bonnd  coast. 

And  the  men  and  nations  that  have  received  Christianity, 
have  been,  from  Christ's  day  to  our  own,  of  the  higliest  types 
of  intelligence,  and  Honor,  and  of  all  the  characteristics  which 
most  dign'.fy  a^d  adorn  mankind,  and  testify  that  they  have 
found  it  a  consolation  and  support  under  the  severest  trials  of 
this  life;  anl  the  men  who  have  departed,  triumplied  over  deatli 
by  it.  And  any  person  who  will  not  believe  in  Christ,  as  the 
Son  of  God,  who  created  us  men  and  was  incarnate  and  died  to 
redeem  us,  on  such  evidence,  would  not  believe  on  any  testimony 
God  or  man  could  furnish  ;  and  it  is  now  too  late  to  fear  tliat  it 
will  not  continue  to  be  the  faith  and  consolation  of  the  wisest, 
the  best  instructed,  and  the  highest  intellectual  and  moral  types 
of  mankind,  until  Christ  comes  again  in  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father. 

Finally,  it  is  impossible  that  the  life  of  Christ  was  either 
fiction  or  forgery,  because  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Roman  civiliza- 
tions had  met  in  Palestine,  wlien  Christ  was  born;  and  Egypt, 


LIFE    OF     CHRIST.  407 

the  Ea?t,  and  Africa  had  representatives  tlicre.  And  Clirîst 
was  brouglit  in  contact,  in  so  many  directions,  with  contcm- 
porarj  history,  topography,  politics,  manners  an  J  customs  of  the 
fjo-e — that  it  would  have  been  especially  dangerous,  and  next 
to  impossible,  for  a  writer  of  fiction  to  invent  a  plausible  story  ; 
and  a  forger  could  not  have  made  such  an  one  out  of  sucli  in- 
extricable perplexities  as  he  would  have  had  to  steer  tlu-ough, 
in  such  a  state  of  society,  without  many  errors.  And  no  single 
mistake  has  been  discovered  in  the  numberless  alhisions  to  all 
these  things  then  existing  in  Palestine.  If  there  be  anything  to 
be  relied  on  from  human  te:timony,  it  is  that  tlie  Gospels  were 
written  then  and  there,  and  are  a  revelation  from  God  ;  and 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  second  Person  of  the  Godhead,  Incar- 
nate, "  whom  the  Heavens  must  receive  until  the  Times  of  Res- 
titution of  all  things,  which  God  liath  spoken  by  the  mouth  of 
all  His  Holy  Prophets,  since  the  world  began." 


